CPA to seek P9.4B loan for port
Amount to be used in building New Cebu International Container Port, says CPA official
CPA General Manager Edmund Tan said the Department of Finance (DOF) will determine which country they are going to secure the loan from
THE Cebu Port Authority (CPA) is preparing a P9.4-billion loan application to build the New Cebu International Container Port (NCICP).
CPA General Manager Edmund Tan said the Department of Finance (DOF) will determine which country they are going to secure the loan from.
Korea and Japan and other countries are offering loans as part of official development assistance (ODA).
“We have to process now our loan application so we can start the construction by next year,” Tan said during the 888 News Forum at Marco Polo Plaza.
The CPA is also working on the detailed engineering design of the project.
Tan said they are certain that the memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed by Consolacion Mayor Teresa Alegado and Mega Harbour Development Corp. of Reghis Romero is a futile exercise.
“They (Alegado and Mega Harbour) can longer proceed because they have no legal basis to do so. The power to construct the new international container port is within the power of CPA,” Tan said.
Solution
“In order that they will be happy because they want to have a reclamation project, we can offer a ‘win-win’ solution to them. They may put up an economic zone beside our container port,” Tan said.
He said importers noticed that a container port in Tayud would be far from their warehouses in Mandaue and Cebu City, so that they are interested in renting warehouses nearby.
“I noticed that their project is more on the warehousing and terminal building for products of businessmen. And the Municipality of Consolacion and Mega Harbour may coordinate with CPA to put it up within the vicinity of the new port,” Tan said.
Imported
Once they establish warehousing near the port, an imported cargo container which is already cleared for release by the Bureau of Customs can easily be transferred to it, Tan said.
He said he has already told Alegado that the CPA has the power to construct, manage and own the ports in Cebu, so the local government unit must support the CPA port project.
Tan also said that they will coordinate with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for the connecting road networks.
“They (DPWH) have plan to construct a viaduct and revive the Mandaue Coastal Road to connect the new port to the old port through a road parallel to Ouano Ave. at the North Reclamation Area,” Tan said.
He said it’s good that Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ) is just across the future container port. Around 30 percent of the containerized cargoes arriving Cebu are bound for MEZ.
“These cargoes will be transported by barge from Tayud to MEZ to decongest the bridge,” Tan said.