INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER PORT. International cargo vessels dock at the Cebu International Port (CIP) in Cebu City. Cebu Port Authority (CPA) General Manager Leonilo Miole on Friday (July 31, 2020) said the construction of the New Cebu International Container Port (NCICP) in Consolacion, Cebu is eyed to commence this year if consultancy work deadlines on the project are met as planned. (PNA photo by John Rey Saavedra)
CEBU CITY – The construction of the New Cebu International Container Port (NCICP) will commence this year if consultancy work deadlines on the project are met as planned, the head of the Cebu Port Authority (CPA) on Friday said.
Leonilo Miole, CPA general manager, said consultancy works on the PHP10.1-billion port project in Tayud, Consolacion, some eight kilometers north of the Cebu base port, are “currently ongoing”.
“There are two components in the procurement for the project. Procurement for consultancy which is now ongoing. And another for construction. The procurement for civil works is expected to start October this year,” Miole said during a virtual talk show hosted by the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas.
While the current coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) crisis can delay meeting this deadline, the CPA official is hopeful the multi-billion project could start this year so it will be completed in five years.
The NCICP is one of the flagship projects of the Duterte administration’s Build, Build, Build infrastructure program.
Once this project is realized, Miole said the existing Cebu International Port (CIP) located in Cebu City will soon be transformed into a domestic port, while NCICP will serve international cargoes coming in and out of Cebu.
In June 2018, the Philippines and South Korea’s Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) had signed a USD172.64-million (PHP8.8 billion) loan agreement for the construction of a new international port in Cebu.
The Philippines will provide a counterpart fund of USD26.09 million (about PHP1.4 billion) for the project.
The NCICP will be built on a 25-hectare reclaimed land in the town of Consolacion in northern Cebu.
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 the procurement of cargo-handling equipment.
A new international terminal is seen as the long-term solution to the growing volumes handled at the CIP, the current base port.
The project is seen not only to free up the base port but also to enhance the transport infrastructure system for the unimpeded flow of goods and services in the Visayas.
Several feasibility studies, the most recent one by KEXIM, suggest locating the new seaport hub in Tayud, Consolacion. (PNA)
