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Elijah Felice Rosales - The Philippine Star
February 7, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Manufacturers and traders in Cebu can expect quicker turnaround time for the shipment of goods by 2028, once the Department of Transportation (DOTr) builds the alternate facility to the Cebu Baseport.
The DOTr on Wednesday led the groundbreaking ceremony for the New Cebu International Container Port (NCICP), a project touted as one of the solutions to improving the logistics flow in Cebu and Western Visayas.
The NCICP is scheduled for completion by the second quarter of 2028, and once the port is built, it can handle two vessels carrying up to 2,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) at the same time.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the NCICP would ease port congestion at the Cebu Baseport by welcoming some of the ships coming into Cebu. This means shippers no longer have to wait for an extended period of time to load and unload their cargoes.
On top of this, Bautista said the NCICP can contribute to reducing logistics costs in Cebu, which should cut retail prices of goods to the benefit of consumers. Usually, shipping becomes costlier when a container is stuck in the port.
“This redistribution [of port traffic] will pave the way for a seamless flow of goods and services, ensuring that our economy remains robust and dynamic,” Bautista said.
“The benefits of the project extend far beyond its physical structure, as it is expected to generate a wide array of advantages for users, the local communities and the public sector,” he added.
The NCICP, costing P16.93 billion, is bankrolled by official development assistance from South Korea through the Export-Import Bank of Korea.
The NCICP will be constructed in Consolacion, Cebu on top of a 25-hectare reclamation, with a 500-meter berth length and a 12-meter water depth. In its entirety, the port will be equipped with five quay cranes, and truckers can access it through a 1,365-meter access road.
At the groundbreaking, South Korean Ambassador Lee Sang-hwa said the NCICP could shore up Cebu’s reputation as a maritime hub not just in the Philippines, but in Southeast Asia as well. He also believes that the project could attract more shippers to invest in Cebu.
Originally, the NCICP was estimated to cost nearly P10 billion only, but this was adjusted by the National Economic and Development Authority Board to P16.93 billion due to pandemic delays and technical adjustments.
The DOTr awarded the contract to develop the NCICP to South Korean builder HJ Shipbuilding and Construction Co. Ltd.
