Palawan-Sabah sea route eyed by March
MIMAROPA: BATARAZA, PALAWAN
A ROLL-ON, roll-off (Ro-Ro) ship is planned for launching by March between Palawan and Sabah as part of initiatives to boost trade within the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA). Romeo M. Montenegro, deputy executive director of the Mindanao Development Authority, the Philippine Coordinating Office for the BIMP-EAGA, said the new shipping service will cover the ports in Buliluyan, Bataraza in Palawan, and Kudat in the northern part of Sabah. “It can very well promote economic activity across Palawan and Malaysia,” Mr. Montenegro said in an interview. A vessel owned by Philippine-based Archipelago Shipping, with a capacity of 275 passengers and 35 vehicles, will initially be used, he added. Palawan and Mindanao are the Philippine focus areas for the BIMP-EAGA.
DAVAO-GENSAN-BITUNG ROUTE
Meanwhile, Mr. Montenegro said they have created an interagency task force for the Davao-General SantosBitung route to support and facilitate the shipping service that has been bogged down by lack of cargo load. “You have to look in that context (where) some airlines in some parts of the world, when they start smaller routes, smaller operations, you don’t expect that to be 100% load factor in its initial run, but eventually, later on, it will pick up,” he said. “That’s the nature of this specific investment. It will eventually pick up so long as there is a consistent support from the government and the integration of all other members of the business community and sector that are part of that particular project,” he added. The Davao-GenSan-Bitung route was launched in April last year by President Rodrigo R. Duterte and Indonesian President Joko Widodo. —