Rama: Move port to north

CEBU, Philippines - Seeing the urgency to end congestion in the Cebu Port areas, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said he wants to relocate the port either to Consolacion or Liloan town.

Rama reasoned when the third bridge connecting Cebu and Mactan Island will be realized and the expansion of the Mactan Cebu International Airport will be finished, streets near port areas will become more congested.

With its geographical location, Cebu City is being considered as the focal point of all directions, said Rama.

“Ngano anha paman sila sa area na pwerte nang huota. Poor manager, poor port officials, they don’t plan well,” Rama said.

“The port  has to be relocated. That has been long talked about and this is the time to have that plan implemented,” Rama told reporters.

Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. President Lito Maderazo agreed with Rama.

“There is really a need to transfer the port to address traffic congestion to be able to increase the capacity of our port,” Maderazo told The FREEMAN.

He also said the traffic condition in the port areas will worsen once SM Seaside will open next year.

“More traffic all the way to pier down to SM because these areas will be soon a commercial corridor with the developments at SRP,” he said.

As a businessman, he said it is important to have a free flow of trucks in the container yard to have an efficient releasing of imported goods.

He said there were instances when they had a hard time withdrawing container vans and putting other ones up because of the “worsened” traffic condition.

“If done properly and complement what we have in Cebu, it would be successful and I think it will solve traffic problems. If the plan entails no additional traffic, well, it is a good scenario and would be good for everyone,” he stressed.

However, Maderazo said the Cebu Port Authority must provide and incorporate access roads or networks that trucks can use in their plan.

Rama said he wanted the port area to be able to accommodate cruise ships and big vessels that would bring in foreign tourists.

CPA General Manager Edmund Tan said the proposal of making a new Port in Barangay Tayud, Liloan was their plan.

“We will make a new port and we are not going to relocate the existing port,” Tan clarified.

He disclosed that the projected port costs P10 billion based on the feasibility study conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency in 2002.

The JICA study revealed that Tayud, Liloan, has deeper water than Consolacion. Also, international vessels no longer have to use the channel which was reportedly has wide shallow areas, especially during low tide.

“I don’t know how they will go about it when they’re thinking about tomorrow. We knew that the port has been in trouble couple of years ago. Now what have they done? What plans do they have?” Rama added.

Tan said they will pursue the plan and it will take between three to five years to finish.

Meanwhile, Rama said if there would be a proposal for the construction of a fourth bridge, he will listen to it and support it just to aid traffic congestion in the city.

“If they want to have a fourth bridge then let them present it because it will definitely help. If the two bridges are in trouble they can get into the third bridge or fourth and would serve the rest,” he said. —/BRP (FREEMAN)