Mactan Channel eyed to resolve traffic woes

CEBU, Philippines - The Mactan Channel has been pushed as an alternative transport corridor to decongest traffic to and from mainland Cebu and Mactan Island.

The Infrastructure Development Committee of the Regional Development Council has raised the possibility of replicating the good practices in other countries using sea transport to ease traffic in land.

IDC Chair Glenn Soco said this can be a good alternative solution to land-based solutions, which are mostly recommended, such as truck ban, road widening, rerouting, and signalization, among others.

He said the Mactan Channel can be tapped as an alternative transport corridor to ease traffic in Cebu mainland and Mactan Island where major destinations are located such as the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ), and major hotels and resorts, among others.

Based on the Mega Cebu Roadmap Study, an average of 82,000 vehicles pass the two heavily ­congested Cebu-Mactan bridges per day.

In November last year, the IDC created a technical working group (TWG) to study and come up with a proposal for a Cebu intra­-island sea transport system linking mainland Cebu and Mactan Island using existing waterways.

To better appreciate the Mactan Channel as an alternative corridor to decongest traffic, the TWG conducted a site inspection of eight possible ports along the Mactan Channel that can be tapped as port links under the proposed intra and inter­-island sea transport system.

Out of the ports inspected, five existing and possible port links were identified.

To determine the feasibility of these port links, the TWG further assessed the access roads leading to the ports earlier identified.

In a meeting last Feb. 28, IDC recommended for the approval of the proposed Cebu Intra­ and Inter­ Island Sea Transport System for support and funding consideration by Department of Public Works and Highways, Cebu Ports Authority, Philippine Coast Guard, Maritime Industry Authority, Land Transportation Office, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, Department of Transportation, concerned LGUs and the private sector.

Mass transport

Meanwhile, it has also been pushed to build a railway transport system in Cebu as a long-term solution to its worsening traffic problem amid its continued economic growth.

Cebu is in dire need of quality, fast and reliable mass transit systems to decongest its main roads where traffic is getting worse due to the increasing car volume.

Cebu's low quality and unreliable mass transport, the jeepneys, has not been able to keep up with the demands of Cebu's rising economic and increasing population.

According to the Department of Finance, a Cebu railway project is among the 13 railway projects being developed by DOTr.

The Cebu railway project, DOF said, will have five lines. Based on previous reports, the DOTr detailed a 25-kilometer Cebu rail project costing P98 billion, including right of way. (FREEMAN)