New Bangsamoro shipping service to cut transport costs, open ASEAN link
A DOMESTIC shipping route launched last week in the Bangsamoro region is seen to cut cargo transport costs by as much as 30% and opens an opportunity for expanded trade between southern Philippines and neighboring southeast Asian countries.
Bangsamoro Transport Minister Paisalin P. Tago said the new roll-on, roll-off (RORO) service between Lamitan City in Basilan and Parang in Maguindanao del Norte is an initial step towards improving logistics and connectivity in the former restive region that is in transition.
Speaking during the launch at the Polloc Freeport and Economic Zone in Parang, he said an international shipping company is looking into the inclusion of the port in an existing ASEAN RORO network that includes Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
The Bangsamoro Ministry of Transportation and Communications has drawn up a Transport Logistics Roadmap that includes a list of priority projects and potential private sector investments on sea, air and land connectivity, and agro-industrial hubs.
The strategically-located Parang is being eyed to become the new regional capital with a bill recently filed in the Bangamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Parliament proposing the transfer from Cotabato City.
“Strengthening maritime trade routes and intermodal transport systems will open doors for more trade and investment in the region, including in the tourism industry,” United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Philippines Mission Director Ryan Washburn said in a recorded message at the launch ceremony.
“Additionally, this route will bring down transport cost of businesses by as much as 20 to 30 percent and reduce wastage of agricultural products that are inevitable if transported by land due to poor road conditions and connectivity,” he said.
USAID backed the RORO project through its Regulatory Reform Support Program for National Development that is being implemented by the University of the Philippines Public Administration Research and Extension Services Foundation.
Bangsamoro Business Council Chair Ronald Halid D. Torres said the new shipping route “will provide significant benefits to the business sectors in Cotabato City, in Maguindanao del Norte and in Lamitan City and other municipalities in Basilan.”
“It can also create new trading avenues for the business communities in these areas,” Mr. Torres said in an interview with the media on Saturday.
Lamitan City Mayor Roderick H. Furigay said the direct sea link to the Bangsamoro center cuts travel time by half a day.
“Imagine the exhaustion you get from travelling first by boat from Basilan to Zamboanga City from where the long overland travel to Cotabato City begins,” Mr. Furigay said.
Basilan is mainly known for its rubber and coconut plantations, but it also produces fisheries and other agricultural commodities such as rice and coffee.
The provincial government is also pursuing new farm income sources such as vegetable production using hydroponics with drip irrigation. — John M. Unson
