CPA chief expects dry run of ferries, barges next week

The local government of Cordova town is opening its port for vessels coming from Cebu City. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

A DRY RUN of additional sea vessels is expected next week in the Mactan Channel.

Vice Admiral Edmund Tan, Cebu Port Authority (CPA) general manager, informed members of the  Mactan-Cebu Bridge Management Board about the dry run during yesterday’s meeting at the Capitol .

Tan said he is coordinating with shipping companies to deploy ferries and barges to carry passengers next week from mainland Cebu to Mactan Island and vice versa.

He said that Pier 2 or 3 in Cebu City and Anton’s Restaurant in Lapu-Lapu City will be used as docking areas for vessels carrying passengers.

On the other hand, the Ouano Wharf in Mandaue City and the Kasamahan Wharf in Lapu-Lapu City will be for cargoes and vehicles.

Officials said that the lack of space in ports and the lack of berthing areas have kept shipping companies from committing to deploy its vessels in the Mactan Channel.

Meanwhile, Cordova Municipal Engineer Sovipo Sinculan announced during the meeting that his town is opening its Roll On-Roll Off (RORO) port for vessels coming from Cebu City.

The port in Barangay Poblacion, which has been operating for two years already, houses pumpboats that ferry passengers from Cordova to Getafe town in Bohol and back.

Sinculan said that the municipal government is offering its port for use to RORO vessels while the bridge repair works are ongoing, considering that Cebu City is only 12 to 13 kilometers away from Cordova.

He added that the port in Barangay Poblacion can accommodate two RORO vessels on top of the big pumpboats operating in the area.

TRAFFIC

Meanwhile, traffic continues to build up along DM Cortes Street toward the two Mactan-Cebu bridges as the DPWH increased the length of ongoing road works to more than 400 meters.

In the past days, heavy traffic was experienced along A. Soriano Avenue, Ouano Avenue, and UN Avenue, which are major roads going to northern Cebu and Lapu-Lapu City, said Felix Suico Jr., Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (TEAM) acting head.

To ease traffic, the TEAM allowed six-wheeler trucks to pass D.M. Cortes Street to A.C. Cortes going to northern Cebu and the bridge to Lapu-Lapu City during peak hours while small vehicles are diverted to SB Cabahug street.