The Freeman ProgreCEBU: Cebu South Bus Terminal

CEBU, Philippines — Amid the bustling city sits the largest bus terminal in Cebu. In celebration of The Freeman’s 105th anniversary, we look back and celebrate one of the development projects vital to the economy of Sugbo: the Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT).

CSBT is a bus station situated along N. Bacalso Avenue in Cebu City built to remedy the traffic congestion in Metro Cebu. It was constructed under the Metro Cebu Development Projects (MCDP), which was financed by the Japanese government as an ODA (Official Development Assistance) Loan. The bus terminal has been operated by the Cebu Provincial Government since 1993.

Thirty-six years before World War II, the area where the South Bus Terminal was erected was once the train depot of the main railway station — from the current Development Bank of the Philippines up to the Cebu City Medical Center building.

Its track ran a 60-mile railroad traversing through the capital connecting Danao in the north and Argao in the south.

For decades, it boosted the economy of the province transporting sugar, coal, and other products from all over the island to Cebu City, which contributed to making Cebu the "Queen City of the South" until it was bombed by the Japanese in late 1944 and early 1945.

Recently, there have been plans to relocate the terminal to SRP and Talisay. However, what remains certain is the terminal's strategic location, which has historically played a pivotal role in the economic growth of the Queen City of the South, first through trains and later via the South Bus Terminal. – Katrina Alexandra Lorenzo, UP Cebu Online Intern

Editor’s Note: The ProgreCEBU: Mactan Cebu International Airport article published on the Business Section of The Freeman newspaper, dated July 23, 2024, was also written by UP Cebu Online Intern Katrina Alexandra Lorenzo.