Boon to Visayas: New Cebu int’l port rising by 2028
Construction of the P16.93-billion New Cebu International Container Port in Consolacion, Cebu, has started as the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Cebu Port Authority and private partner HJ Shipbuilding and Construction broke ground for the project on Wednesday.
The port, which is seen to boost trading activities in Visayas, is targeted to be completed by the second quarter of 2028.
Rising on reclaimed land
DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista, in a statement, said the new port would aid in ensuring faster turnaround of commercial vessels while improving handling and container stacking facilities.
“The benefits of this project extend far beyond its physical structure. It is expected to generate a wide array of advantages for users, the local community and the public sector,” he said.
The civil works contract for the project was signed in December last year—over two decades after the master plan had been crafted back in 2002.
The Cebu port, which will be equipped with five quay cranes, is set to rise on a 25-hectare reclaimed area in Brgy. Tayud, Consolacion.
The project includes a berthing facility with a 500-meter quay wall length that can accommodate two 2,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit vessels, operating facilities and structures for containers, an access road and bridge, and a dredged waterway and turning basin.
In 2018, the Philippine and South Korean governments inked a $172.6-million loan agreement for the project, payable in 40 years with a grace period of 10 years.
Cargo upswing
The financing covers both the construction of the physical structures and procurement of cargo handling equipment and consulting services.
Opening a new terminal in Cebu is expected to bode well for trading activities in the Visayas, which have shown growth recently.
In January to September last year, cargo throughput in the Visayas grew by nearly 10 percent to 42.95 million metric tons (MT) from 38.73 million MT in 2023. Passenger traffic in the same period rose by 9 percent to 30 million from 27.42 million in 2023.
