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Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Arroyo to grace RoRo conference
By Jenny Molbog-Mendoza
PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will grace the upcoming one-day conference that will highlight the major benefits of the Roll-on/Roll-off Terminal System (RRTS or Roro) in Western Mindanao slated on April 27 at the Astoria Hotel in Zamboanga City.
About 150 participants from all over Western Mindanao are expected to join the event.
Dubbed as the Western Mindanao RoRo Shipping Conference, the event aims to:
-gain appreciation on the existing shipping operations in Western Mindanao and the promotion of the RoRo shipping service as an alternative mode of shipping among the local business community and local leaders;
- generate commitment from shippers and ship owners/operators to fully support the RoRo service in the region in order to increase the competitiveness and productivity of the business sector in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm);
- inform shippers, ship owners, business community and local officials of the rationale, benefits, success story and status of the RRTS;
- and provide updates on port modernization programs, both infrastructure and operation, of the key ports in Western Mindanao.
With the RoRo System, cargo handling is eliminated because cargo is wheeled off from the vessel and directly transported to its point of destination.
Development planners pointed out that the system, if fully utilized by the business community, will significantly bring down shipping costs, facilitate the movement of goods, people and services, and spur economic growth in the countryside.
Mindanao Economic Development Council Chair Jesus Dureza, in a recent interview, said three additional port projects in Western Mindanao are to be completed by the second quarter of this year.
These ports are located in Lamitan and Maluso in Basilan; Siasi in Sulu; and Bongao in Tawi-Tawi. On the other hand, RoRo facilities are already available in the ports of Isabela, Basilan and Jolo, Sulu. These ports complement the RRTS and other nautical highways.
The construction of these three additional ports are being undertaken by the USAid-funded Growth with Equity in Mindanao 2 Program, Dureza said.
Dureza will provide an overview of the conference.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (April 19, 2005 issue)
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