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Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Shipping firm: Oro becoming Mindanao transport, cargo hub
By Lizanilla J. Amarga
* "Sizable market" seen in Oro, nearby towns
* Menaco to help boost local economy
A SHIPPING company said Cagayan de Oro City is now fast becoming the "transport and cargo hub" in the entire island of Mindanao.
Negros Navigation Corporation (Nenaco) chairman and CEO Sulficio Tagud Jr. said almost all travelers from Mindanao pass by Cagayan de oro City when they make their trip to other parts of the country.
He said several Mindanao entrepreneurs who want to transport their cargoes to Visayas or Luzon also prefer to use the Cagayan de Oro port as their point of embarkment due to its ideal geographic location.
"People no longer take the boat for General Santos or Davao for 14 to 16 hours and go around the Zamboanga Peninsula when they travel or transport cargoes for Visayas or Luzon," he said.
"It is now better to take the Davao to Cagayan de Oro by bus which would mean only spending six hours or four hours and half if by car," he added.
Rey Fuentes, Nenaco's Senior Vice President-Passage Marketing and Sales/Passenger Services, said there is also a "sizable market" in Cagayan de Oro and its nearby towns and cities.
Tagud vowed that Nenaco would become a major factor in further developing the city as the transport and cargo hub of Mindanao.
Tagud said Nenaco has already inked an agreement with the biggest bus company in the country, Rural Transit of Mindanao, Inc. (RTMI) for their "door-to-door" passenger and cargo transport.
"We can now truly claim that we can deliver you to Manila door to door as a passenger or vice-versa because of our tie-up with Rural Transit," he said.
He added that they also have their mini-shuttle buses that would bring passengers from the pier to the terminals where they would be transported by RTMI buses to their respective destinations.
Tagud said they are also encouraging small sari-sari stores in the different parts of Mindanao to be their ticket outlets.
"So even if you are in Malaybalay, Bukidnon you can still purchase a ticket straight to Manila and you need not pay three times but only once," he said.
Despite this improvement of their services and their tie-up with RTMI, Tagud said there are no extra or any additional charges.
He said it would still be economical and convenient to travel using this Nenaco-RTMI system.
"We're breaking the price barrier as we even have Cagayan de Oro to Iloilo at only P799 when the regular fare is P1,650 to P1,200. This P799 is almost 50 percent discount," he said.
It was also announced that Nenaco has now increased their scheduled twice a week Manila-Cagayan de Oro vessel trips to four times a week.
It has more vessel amenities such as "Five-Star" dining, ship shop, lounge, video arcade, videoke bar, disco, function room, economy dining, playground, 24-hour clinic, VIP lounge, chapel and mosque. They also are the only shipping company with "Dancing Porters."
Tagud who also is a native of Cagayan de Oro along with several other Nenaco top officials expressed hopes that with all this cost-efficient and convenient way of travelinig offered by Nenaco, more tourists and investors would be coming over to Cagayan de Oro.
"We can help boost the drive to attract investors to Cagayan de Oro," he said.
(February 16, 2005 issue)
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