Monday, December 18, 2006 Mandaue eyes global status with north recla
THE completion of the Mandaue North Reclamation Project (MNRP) will make Mandaue City a “major world-class ports and harbor in Southeast Asia.”
Mandaue Mayor Thadeo Ouano said once the MNRP secures an environmental compliance certificate from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau, implementation of the project will begin by the middle of next year.
The project, when completed, will be called “Mandaue Harbor City Project,” the mayor told a press conference last Friday.
The MNRP involves the reclamation of 295 hectares of foreshore and submerged lands at Cansaga Bay, off Barangays Umapad, Paknaan and Labogon.
The project, conceptualized in 2001 yet, is a joint venture between the local government and Mandaue Land Consortium Inc. (MLC), a partnership composed of D.M. Wenceslao and Associates Inc., Jan de Nul, N.V. Belgium Lyons and Association of Hawaii.
According to a document from the City Government, developments inside the reclamation project will include a port and harbor facility, container terminals and areas allocated for industrial and commercial land uses that will be known as Mandaue Business Park. Ouano said that when the implementation of the project begins, shipwrecking will be banned in the area.
Ouano said the second phase of the reclamation project will make Mandaue City the center of trade and commerce in Cebu Province because of the international port.
He said an international port in Mandaue City will not only benefit the local government but “will also complement” the developments of neighboring cities like Cebu and Lapu-Lapu.
“This will be a shared success among Cebuanos,” he said.
Ouano is also optimistic the project will result in an increase in job opportunities for local residents.
“The bottom line is increase in employment and (reduction of) crimes, because when people have nothing else to do they resort to drugs, crime, etc.” he added. (MMM)
