CPA asks council to back land-swapping deal

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu Port Authority (CPA) has asked the Cebu City Council to intervene in their request to the city government for a possible land-swapping and joint development.

CPA General Manager Edmund Tan, in a letter dated January 28 addressed to Councilor Roberto Cabarrubias, requested for the possibility of land-swapping the contested Compania Maritima building and other premises across the Cebu City hall which is reportedly owned by the CPA.

They are proposing to swap the area with the properties across the CPA office along Serging Osmeña Blvd in the North Reclamation Area (NRA) which is owned by the Cebu City government.

The property at NRA is now being used by the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) as storage area or junkyard for impounded vehicles.

The Council has set an executive session on April 23 to hear the sentiments of the port officials. Mayor Michael Rama has expressed   disagreement though on the said land-swapping proposal because the CPA reportedly doesn't own the Compania Maritima lot.

Tan said they are planning to convert the Compania Maritima building into a maritime museum while the southern part of the area will be utilized temporarily as storage or container yard.

Tan explained that the container yard at the said premises will only be temporary since CPA seeks more lots in other areas nearby through lease or expropriation.

"We understand that the city has its plan for the development of  the Compania Maritima building into some sort of a museum, which is similar to the plan of the CPA to convert it into a maritime museum, while the other areas in the vicinity shall be developed into port-related businesses," Tan said.

During Sinulog festivities, the city government uses the areas around the century-old building for the "Devotee City".

Tan further stated that CPA needs the property to decongest traffic, especially at the Cebu International Port (CIP) where trucks and container vans move slowly, in effect, hampers the delivery of services particularly exporting and importing of goods.

"Rest assured that when we use the Compania Maritima area anytime soon as storage of cargoes or container vans, the view from the Senior Citizen's Park will not be obstructed, parking space for the city vehicles shall still be available and the said area shall still be accessible to vehicular traffic," he stressed.

He also pointed out that several companies like the Association of International Shipping (AISL), shipping companies, cargo handlers and the business sectors in general have been complaining about the congested ports.

In an earlier interview with Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. President Lito Maderazo with The Freeman, he said that the slow traffic at the container yard has been their concern because it already disturbs the revenues of the shipping companies.

"Considering the limited space of the port like in CIP, the congestion is now so acute and has already affected shipping lines and businesses as they clamor for more storage space for their container vans," he said.

"We seek your understanding and support in our effort to solve the congestion problem at Cebu port," he added.

Mayor Michael Rama earlier mentioned the proposal to transfer the ports to Northern towns like Consolacion and Liloan to aid the traffic condition in the port areas.  (FREEMAN)