New Cebu Int’l Container Port on track for construction this year — DoTr

THE TRANSPORTATION department said it plans to award the New Cebu International Container Port contract by October to Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction.

“It will be awarded to the only bidder; it will be awarded to Hanjin for the civil works,” Transportation Undersecretary Elmer U. Sarmiento said on the sidelines of an event last week.

The Department of Transportation (DoTr) said previously that it was targeting to start the construction of the New Cebu Container Port within the year.

The container port, located in Tayud, Consolacion, Cebu, has a capacity of 2,500 twenty-foot equivalent units and will be equipped with four quay cranes.

Of the budget allotted for port upgrades and development, the majority will be allotted for the New Cebu International Container Port, he said, adding that the special allotment release order (SARO) has been secured by the department.

“We already got the SARO maybe two weeks ago. So, we are planning to award the contract for this by early October, hopefully,” he said.

The DoTr said that the construction of the New Cebu International Container Port is targeted for completion by 2028.

In 2018, the Department of Finance signed a $172.64-million loan agreement with the Export-Import Bank of Korea for the project.

The government will provide P1.4 billion or $26.09 million for the port project, which seeks to free up the existing seaport in Cebu province and to provide efficient and reliable transport infrastructure for the seamless flow of goods and services in the region.

Further, Mr. Sarmiento said the DoTr has proposed 126 ports valued at P9 billion for development next year, which is on top of the port development projects by the Philippine Ports Authority.

However, of the 126 ports the DoTr has proposed, only three have been approved, he said, attributing this to “tight fiscal space.” — Ashley Erika O. Jose