DAVAO CITY – The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) will conduct a study on the Mindanao Intermodal Network System in a bid to upgrade the land, air, and sea transportation on the island.
Yvette Valderia, Project Development Division chief of MinDA, said in an interview that the public transportation system in Mindanao is “fragmented.” The study hopes to provide information on how to make the transportation network system in various places in Mindanao seamless, she said.
“When we say intermodal, it uses different modes of transportation and we make it seamless…The ideal is that it has to be connected seamlessly, so that’s what we are aiming, to have a seamless type of public transport in Mindanao,” she said.
Valderia added that the study will include policy recommendations to guide the government on how it can impalement infrastructure projects to achieve the goal of having a unified public transportation, especially seaports and airports that are not yet connected.
She said that a seamless public transportation will boost industrial development and help promote the export industry because it requires an “efficient system” to easily move goods and services across areas in Mindanao.
Last Wednesday, the MinDA signed a memorandum of understanding with the US Agency for International Development-Regulatory Reform Support Program for National Development (USAID-RESPOND) for continuing support and technical assistance to the crafting of the Mindanao Intermodal Transport Logistics Study.
MinDA Secretary Leo Tereso Magno said that the unique Mindanao configuration for transportation requires an upgraded network system in order to “ensure seamless and functional transport system development for Mindanao.”
In an information released by MinDA, the USAID-RESPOND, through the UP Public Administration Research and Extension Services Foundation Inc. (UPPAF), will provide technical assistance in the conduct of the study, provide resource persons for the training, and provide resource persons and technical inputs on regulatory impact assessments, economics, and governance.
It said that MinDA collaborates with USAID-RESPOND in designing activities and preparing documents and sharing data and documents relevant to the preparation, finalization, and providing technical inputs and administrative and logistical support in organizing stakeholders’ consultations and training workshops.