DINO
The proposed P16 billion international port project in Barangay Tayud, Consolacion town will be monitored to ensure its transparency and compliance with the law, Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino said.
His assurance came amid concerns voiced by the Cebu Ports Authority (CPA) and some Cebu business leaders over the Chinese firm involved in the project.
“Cebu needs it, and we have to make sure that the government and people of Cebu will get the best deal, whether it will be developed by the private sector or CPA ,” he said.
Dino referred to the P16-billion port project by Mega Harbour Port and Development, Inc., which entered into a deal with state-owned Chinese firm CCCC Dredging Co.
CCCC Dredging Co. is a subsidiary of China Communication Construction Co. (CCCC) Ltd., which was sanctioned by the World Bank in 2011 due to fraudulent practices of one of its other subsidiaries.
In November last year, the Wall Street Journal reported that CCCC Dredging suspended its initial public offering in Hong Kong in 2015 after questions arose on its alleged involvement in China’s land reclamation activities in the disputed Spratly Islands.
CCCC Dredging is the largest dredging company in the world.
Mega Harbour proposed to reclaim 85 hectares of land in Consolacion where a 1,200-meter berthing facility will be built.
The deal between Mega Harbour and CCCC Dredging for the “Cebu International and Bulk Terminal Project” was signed during President Rodrigo Duterte’s state visit to China last week.
Mega Harbour entered into a joint venture agreement with the Consolacion municipal government for the project last month.
The deal was opposed by the Cebu Port Authority (CPA), which claimed sole authority in all port projects in Cebu.
Mega Harbour is a subsidiary of the R-II Group of Companies, which is engaged in infrastructure, housing and property development, port operations among others.
CPA General Manager Edmund Tan said they will be cautious of Mega Harbour’s and CCCC Dredging’s dealings.
“We will evaluate them properly as CPA is the sole agency in charge of all port developments in the province of Cebu,” he said.
CPA said it was pursuing the same port project on the same site on a smaller scale.
The authority is eyeing a 12-hectare site in the same area for the new P9.3-billion international container port.
Despite assurances of close monitoring and evaluation, Cebu’s business leaders are still worried.
“We should keep away from companies with dubious reputations,” said Cebu Business Club president Gordon Alan Joseph.
Ted Locson Jr., Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) vice president for external affairs, said there is reason for concern.
“We can only hope that government, with its program on good governance, will be able to have the check and balance for this type of projects,” he said.