Cebu port congestion getting absurd – Dino

CEBU, Philippines — Port operations need to be dispersed out of Cebu City as it is getting congested already.

Presidential Assistant for Visayas Michael Dino said the situation at the Cebu International Port (CIP) is starting to get "absurd".

"Our existing container port is situated in a congested corridor of the city center," Dino said in a recent event in Talisay City, Cebu where a new container port will be built by next year by a private company and completed within three years.

"You can see for yourself how clogged our existing port is," Dino pointed out.

"Pier 1 to 6 for domestic vessels are co-located with the Cebu International Port," the official added. "I do not know if you agree with me that such situation is becoming absurd, especially now that we need to be globally competitive."

He said Cebu must continue to improve to keep a competitive edge over its other Southeast Asian neighbors.

"Our international port right now is congested such that one can see our CI yard containers stacked high, up to five piles. Not only this, but our current international port is situated in a highly congested area within Cebu City," Dino further explained.

He said that if Cebu does not develop a container port outside of Cebu City, like what is planned in Talisay City, he warned that import and export industries "will surely be stalled."

Building ports outside Cebu City, he said, will also do away with traffic congestion.

"When you pass by the road parallel to the pier, you can see the service road clogged up with trailer trucks and container vans. It contributes to traffic in the peripheral roads along the north reclamation area," he said.

The situation in Cebu's existing port area is inimical to safety of passengers of domestic vessels, he said.

He added container vans and trailer trucks are running the service road side by side with the passenger cars.