DoTr inks P16.9-B Cebu port project, 4 others

THE Transportation department on Wednesday signed contracts for five transport projects for central Philippines, including the P16.9-billion New Cebu International Container Port.

The port project financed by the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) is the Department of Transportation’s (DoTr) first public-private partnership (PPP) project in the maritime sector, agency Secretary Jaime J. Baustista said in a speech at a ceremony at the Malacañan Palace.

Dubbed as the first hybrid PPP project under the Marcos administration, the project’s civil works will be “financed by cheap concessional financing,” according to Mr. Bautista.

Under the setup, “agile private sector financing will be used for operations and maintenance,” he added.

The project is targeted for completion by 2027 and is under a Transaction Advisory Services Agreement. It aims to improve the Cebu Base Port’s cargo handling capacity and reduce logistics costs.

The civil works contract package for the New Cebu International Container Port was awarded to HJ Shipbuilding Construction Co., Ltd. during the event.

Civil works include a 1,365-meter access road that will connect the new port through a 300-meter offshore bridge.

“All these projects are a major win for the economy, for tourism, for the environment, for the private sector, and most of all, for the Filipino people,” Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said in a speech.

Mr. Recto assured that the Department of Finance (DoF) would continue to “act fast on PPP projects.” The DoF is responsible for evaluating solicited and unsolicited PPP proposals.

The project was first approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board in 2016, but it had been delayed due to the pandemic, the Russo-Ukrainian war, and the global tightening of monetary policy, which all resulted in “significant surge” in project costs, Mr. Bautista said.

The DoTr also signed an expression of interest to engage the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank as a “transaction advisor” in structuring and bidding out the bus supply and operations and maintenance of the P28.78-billion 35-kilometer (km) Cebu Bus Rapid Transit.

The bus transit will have 17 km of trunk service, 22 stations, 62 bus stops, four terminals, a depot, and 18 km of feeder services in the north and south of the trunk lines.

It is expected to accommodate 116,000 passengers during partial operations, and as many as 164,000 passengers per day once full operations start.

The DoTr also signed the 30-year concession agreement for the Bohol-Panglao International Airport PPP project with Aboitiz InfraCapital.

The agreement involves the construction of a new passenger terminal building and other airport facilities, installment of required and modern aviation equipment, development of commercial assets and services in the airport, the gateway Tagbilaran City and the rest of mainland Bohol.

The expansion project, which was approved by the NEDA Board in October 2023, is expected to increase the airport’s capacity to 3.9 million passengers yearly from 2 million passengers.

“Like other airport development projects, Bohol airport’s transformation is seen to promote regional growth, generate jobs and livelihood, and create investment
opportunities,” the DoTR chief said. 

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., who witnessed the signing, said the airport project is “expected to generate P15 million in annual revenue during its first five years, rising to P200 million a year by the end of the concession period.”

“But more than just the revenue, its true success will be the number of lives that it will change for the better in Bohol,” he added.

The DoTr also entered into an agreement with the World Bank’s International Finance Cooperation to assist in conducting a preliminary analysis and assessment of the proposed New Dumaguete and New Siargao Regional Airports.

“These transformative initiatives build on the momentum of the successful transfer of operations and management of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to New NAIA Infrastructure Corporation and Laguindingan Airport to Aboitiz InfraCapital earlier this year,” the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said in a statement.

“These partnerships highlight the critical role of private sector expertise and resources in modernizing Philippine aviation infrastructure.” — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza