THE GOVERNMENT has awarded terminal management contracts for ports of Sasa, Pagadian, and Pasig, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said.
The management contract for Sasa Port in Davao was awarded to the Pasig City-based Joint Venture of GlobalPort Terminals, Inc. and GlobalPort Ozamis Terminal, Inc. It has a concession fee of P8.635 billion.
The port terminal management contract for Pagadian was awarded to Manila-based Mega Lifters Cargo Handling Corp. The project has a concession fee of P132.167 million exclusive of all taxes, according to a document posted on the PPA website.
The same company was awarded the management contract for the Port of Pasig — an unidentified site along the Pasig River, which allows access for shipments from both Manila Bay and Laguna de Bay — with a concession fee of P2.490 billion exclusive of all taxes.
The bid documents do not specify the exact location of the Port of Pasig, with the PPA saying only that the concession area covers 43,247.07 square meters (sq.m.) on both banks of the river. Informal settlers occupy 1,194.05 sq.m. of the site.
The award notices were signed by PPA General Manager Jay Daniel R. Santiago.
The Transportation department said on Monday that the agency has completed 579 seaport projects since 2016.
The projects include the ports of Puerto Princesa, San Fernando, Bataraza, and Borac, Palawan; Tagbilaran, Maribojoc, Loon (Catagbacan), Talibon, Jagna, Tapal, and Ubay in Bohol, as well as the Dumaguete Port, Cagayan De Oro Port, Babak Port in Davao, Makar Wharf in General Santos City, Batangas Port, and Zamboanga Port.
The department also said the PPA is working on the completion of 163 more.
“The projects that were completed… prepared the country to take in the shipping and logistical demands both from local and international players in the short to midterm as the world transitions to normal,” PPA’s Mr. Santiago said in a recent statement.
“The remaining days of this administration are now focused on further streamlining systems and procedures to achieve seamless interconnectivity not only of the ports, but also processes, resulting in efficiency across all aspects of PPA operations,” he added.
The agency has said it targets to complete and inaugurate 31 more port projects before President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s term ends on June 30. — Arjay L. Balinbin
