PPA yet to act on Chelsea Logistics’ Sasa proposal

LISTED Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp.’s P11.2-billion proposal to modernize Sasa Port in Davao City is still pending at the Philippine Port Authority (PPA) as a previous auction has yet to be cleared.

The Dennis Uy-led shipping firm may have to wait longer for a decision as the agency is waiting for the “formal closure of [the] previous bidding undertaken by [the] DOTC (Department of Transportation and Communications) under [the] previous” administration, PPA General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago told TheManilaTimes.

The Transportation department’s Davao Sasa Port Modernization (DSPM) proposal was rejected by the city government and private sector because it cost P19 billion, compared with the PPA’s P4-billion proposal.

Developing the 80,000-square-meter transport hub is being targeted to start next year, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte earlier said.

The PPA has started reviewing Chelsea Logistics’ proposal and the formal closure might arrive “this week,” Santiago said.

“Thereafter, we will come out with recommendations regarding the unsolicited proposal of Chelsea,” he added.

The PPA chief’s remarks came after Chelsea Logistics submitted its proposal and President and Chief Executive Officer Chryss Alfonsus Damuy claimed that the port needed “a massive rehabilitation.”

The proposal was submitted in August, the company told the local bourse on Tuesday.

Damuy told reporters that Chelsea Logistics would first focus on the “rehabilitation of what is existing” and installing “modern equipment.”

“The port will handle container, general cargo and passengers, international and domestic,” he said.

Chelsea Logistics shares rose by 29 centavos or 5.94 percent to close at P5.17 each on Tuesday.