GUIMARAS ISLAND, Panay — Guimaras province, once saddled with a 75 percent poverty rate in the early 1990s, has jumped from being one of the Philippines’ 20 poorest provinces to one which is among the most prosperous in the country today.

Presently, the poverty level in Guimaras is 13.3 percent and Governor Felipe Hilan A. Nava thinks poverty here would be further reduced with more bridges linking the island province’s agricultural base in the interior to its coastal areas, from which export-quality mangoes are shipped to foreign buyers.

Nava says Guimaras mangoes are the world's sweetest and they can be even sweeter if transport time is substantially reduced.

Apart from mangoes, Guimaras can also be the country's sweet potato capital since the root crop grows in abundance on the island-province.

This year, three steel bridges were completed in Guimaras — the 15-meter Bugnay Bridge in Jordan, the capital, the 28.8-meter Igcawayan Bridge in San Lorenzo, and the 20-meter Mantasic Bridge in the same town.

Nagay Bridge in San Lorenzo, which will be 28.8-meters long when completed, is still being built along with the Gumawod Bridge in Sibunag, which is of the same length.

Compared to building traditional concrete bridges, the steel bridges are quicker to install.