The new Cebu international port project in Consolacion town in northern Cebu will bring more progress and decongest the Cebu City port (above) when the project will be completed in the next couple of years. (CDN Digital File)
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Groundworks for the construction of the P10.1-billion New Cebu International Container Port (NCICP) in Tayud, Consolacion may begin before 2020 ends if schedules for the consultancy work will come as planned.
Cebu Port Authority General Manager Leonilo Miole, in his appearance over the OPAV Assistant Sec. Assistant Secretary Jonji Gonzales’ “Mugstoria Ta” online talk show, said he is hopeful for the project to still meet its timeline despite possible delays brought by the COVID-19 crisis.
The NCICP, which is eyed as the long term solution to the growing volumes handled at the Cebu International Port (CIP) in Cebu City, is eyed to be completed within five years.
Last January 20, 2020, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) issued the notice of award for the US$5.4-million consultancy services for the NCICP project to South Korea-based Yooshin Engineering Corporation.
Following the procurement of the consultancy services, Miole said the procurement for the civil works of the NCICP project is set to start this October.
The NCICP project is part of the Duterte administration’s Build, Build, Build infrastructure program.
In 2018, the Philippine government and South Korea’s Export Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) signed a $172.64-million loan agreement, equivalent to P8.48 billion, for the construction of the project on a 25-hectare reclaimed area in Barangay Tayud, Consolacion.
The loan also includes procurement of cargo-handling equipment.
On top of the loan, the national government will also provide a counterpart fund of P1.28 billion for the project.
NCICP will include a berthing facility with a 500-meter-long quay wall that can accommodate two 2,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) vessels at the same time; operating facilities and structures for containers; an access road and bridge; and a dredged waterway and turning basin.
Once the NCICP is completed, it will be serving international cargoes while the current CIP will be transformed into a domestic port and enable CPA to address the decongestion problem in the domestic operations.
It will include a berthing facility with a 500-meter-long quay wall that can simultaneously accommodate two 2,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) vessels; operating facilities and structures for containers such as a freight station and an inspection shed; an access road and bridge; and a dredged waterway and turning basin. The loan also includes procurement of cargo-handling equipment. /bmjo
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