Tactical divers of the Philippine Coast Guard and Navy continue their search and retrieval operation of the passengers who were trapped inside the sank MV St. Thomas Aquinas of 2Go Shipping near the light house at the Lawi Ledge. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
THE Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is looking for companies to build three radar towers and one control tower to prevent ship collisions and other accidents at the Mactan Channel.
Commander Weniel Azcuna, PCG Central Visayas District chief, said the JICA team arrived in Cebu last week and identified the areas on which to build the towers under their Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS).
“We will cover the whole Mactan Channel. There will be one radar in north, center, and south of Mactan Channel,” Azcuña told the reporters.
The first tower will be built at the Bantolinao Point in the north and the second tower along the seas of Talisay in the south. Both towers were already approved for construction.
Azcuna said approval for the third and center radar towers is pending.
Request
He said the lot near the Mactan Bridge where they will be built is owned by the regional Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH-7).
“We sent two letters. First was last March and a follow-up letter was sent last April. I hope the DPWH-7 will allow us to use the land,” he said.
Marie Nillama, DPWH-7 spokesperson, said their legal officer is still reviewing the request.
Each radar tower will occupy 36 square meters which Azcuña described as “big enough” for the structures.
The control tower of the three radars will be built near their headquarters and face the Mactan Channel.
Costs
Azcuna said the towers will be completed by 2016.
He also said their office will ask their national headquarters to remind 2GO Shipping to salvage its vessel MV St. Thomas Aquinas from Lauis Ledge in Talisay City.
He said the company reasoned that there was no need to salvage the vessel because it will hamper the navigation and flow of traffic within the Mactan Channel.
“Based on our assessment and that of other expert salvors, it won’t hamper any activities just like during the siphoning of the oil,” Azcuna said. He said 2GO didn’t mention about the costs of salvaging their vessel.
Hazard
Cebu Daily News reached Lito Salvio, the vice president of 2GO Shipping, who texted back “I am on leave at the moment, please understand.” It had been nine months since the MV St. Thomas Aquinas sank along the Lauis Ledge after it collided with the MV Sulpicio Express 7 owned by Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corp.