PPA: 19 more seaport projects to be completed before 2023 ends
Published Jul 23, 2023 06:28 am
After finishing 30 seaport projects since July 2022, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said 19 more projects, that are all aimed at improving and modernizing port facilities across the country, are expected to be completed before the end of this year.
PPA General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago said all the seaport development projects are offshoots of the strategic fiscal management reforms and the lifting of the Covid-19 restrictions which resulted in positive gains—from the improved ranking of Philippine ports in World Bank logistics performance index to increased revenue collections of P20.4 billion, which he said, was the highest collected so far since the inception of the agency 48 years ago.
“These first-rate infrastructure projects will greatly help in ease of doing business, travel, and connectivity in the next few years,” said Santiago.
“The initial ‘Build, Build, Build’ program of the past administration translated into bringing more convenience and comfort to the lives of the Filipino peoples as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's ‘Build, Build More’ program is now set in motion,” he added.
Among the 30 completed projects are the Passenger Terminal Building (PTB) of the Port of Calapan in Oriental Mindoro which is touted as the largest port passenger terminal building in the country as it can now accommodate 12,000 passengers daily from around 4,000 before; the Port of Masbate which can now accommodate over 500 passengers from the previous 100 people; and the Port of Coron in Palawan which used to accommodate only 250 passengers but can now accept a maximum of 900 people.
Another project is the Port of Abra de Ilog which serves as the primary northern gateway of the province of Occidental Mindoro to and from the mainland Luzon which is expected to handle 5,831 metric tons of cargoes; 307,999 rolling cargoes; 1,753,772 passengers; and 8,212 vessels by 2024.
Other projects include the improvements of Port of Nasugbu in Batangas, Port of Isabela in Basilan, Port of Ozamiz; the extension of wharf and reclamation of back-up area in Port of Iligan, Lanao del Norte; construction of back up area and port of Coron Palawan; and, expansion of back up area with RORO (Roll on-Roll Off) ramp in the port of Lipata Surigao del Norte.
More projects
Santiago said one of the major projects under construction are the Port Operation Area, Port of Currimao, Ilocos Norte which is now 87.44 percent complete.
Once completed, he said it is expected to administer 56,597 foreign and cruise passengers along with 82,492 metric tons of cargoes and 61 rolling cargoes for essential goods movement across the regions.
Another one, according to him, is the the construction of Passenger Terminal Building, Port of Ubay, Bohol which is now at 91.481 percent completion rate and will soon become Bohol’s principal gateway to the provinces of Leyte and Samar, which are both connected to Matnog, Sorsogon that provides access to Manila and an access to Mindanao through Southern Leyte.
Meanwhile, the Capinpin Port Expansion project in Bataan is at 99.78 percent completion rate and is expected to divert traffic from Manila to accommodate the Bataan Export Processing Zone.
The construction of Port Operational Area, Port of Calatagan in Batangas, on the other hand, is now at its 97.278 percent completion rate and once completed, it would serve as an expanded RoRo berthing and stair landing facility.
He said the construction of the Back-Up Area and Transit Shed project at the Port of Lucena, Quezon is now at its 99.189 percent completion rate and would soonserve as a temporary storage for valuable/perishable goods or goods.
The port with the second largest Passenger Terminal Building, Port of Cagayan de Oro has two projects close to completion: The Gate Complex at the Port of Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental, which foresees to decongest road traffic in the port area, and the Rehabilitation/ Upgrading of Power Substation that is expected to provide better and efficient electricity supply to the newly built Passenger Terminal Building and Back-Up Area.
Another done project that dealt with the same priority space is the Matnog Port Expansion and Upgrading Project in Sorsogon that amounted to over P323 million while the Port of Viracin Catanduanes has conducted and completed its R.C Pier Extension and Provision of RoRo Ramp.
Maritime industry as a top priority
Following the directives of the President to make the maritime industry great again, Santiago said the PPA has prioritized both the continuation of the ongoing projects and the improvement of the state-run ports.
"It has been business as usual since we got back, we continue to veer away from the grip of the pandemic by contributing to the economy and increasing our revenues by 16 percent, more than the P17.5B in 2021 and P16.6B in 2020. We believe this is a good sign and a great shift in gears during this rebound of the economy,” said Santiago.
“These increasing figures are proof of PPA's efficient management of expenses and streamlined delivery of services to port users and stakeholders,” he added.