Finger pier inaugurated at Cebu International Port

CEBU, Philippines — The P1-billion finger pier of the Oriental Port and Allied Services Corp. (OPASCOR) located at the northern end of the Cebu International Port was formally blessed and inaugurated the other day.

OPASCOR chief executive officer and chairman Tomas Riveral said that this new facility will address the need for more berthing and yard space in CIP and will increase its operational capacity.

“We will start our operation on October 7, this year,” said Riveral, who added that OPASCOR also infused P200 million worth of equipment in the finger pier.

A finger pier is defined as a shorter, narrower pier projecting from a larger dock.

Under the Build-Operate-Transfer scheme, OPASCOR will turn over complete ownership of the pier to the Cebu Port Authority after 15 years of operation.

Riveral said that they got a loan of P600 million from a commercial bank and another P600 million through internal fund sources. Their bank loan is payable in 10 years.

In a statement, OPASCOR said that the finger pier is a 1.25-hectare facility which will accommodate general cargo vessels carrying rice, steel, cement, salt, and other bulk cargoes bound for Cebu.

The finger pier has a berthing area of 250 meters and can accommodate two small/medium vessels or one large vessel. It has a yard space of 7,500 square meters and is capable of stacking an additional load of 1,050 containers which will increase the total storage capacity of CIP to more than 10,000 containers at any given time.

OPASCOR said that with the newly-constructed finger pier, the current CIP berthing area for foreign cargoes shall be primarily used to service vessels carrying containerized cargoes.

At the end of the finger pier, a roll on/roll off ramp is also constructed designed for ro/ro vessels or barges. This is to allow using barges as a viable alternative in transporting cargoes outside of CIP via the sea to avoid road congestion.

“The use of waterway hustling as a logistical tool for urban and countryside distribution of cargoes will complement the existing traffic grid and further improve port connectivity,” said OPASCOR, which is engaged primarily in providing arrastre and stevedoring services.

The finger pier was constructed starting September 2018.

Established in 1990 by its workers-owners, OPASCOR has currently more than 700 employees and two subsidiaries; the Golden Continental Port Terminal Services, Inc. in Cagayan de Oro, and Diadem Terminal Maritime Services & Realty, Inc. in Cebu City. — BRP (FREEMAN)