THE National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) 7 welcomes the $172-million funding extended by the Export-Import Bank of Korea for the implementation of the New Cebu International Container Port (NCICP) in Consolacion town.

“We are pleased with the development, as this would address the congestion issue at the existing port. Once completed, this new facility would support and sustain the level of development in Central Visayas, increase its access to economic opportunities, and reduce traffic congestion in Metro Cebu,” said NEDA 7 Director Efren Carreon.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and Export-Import Bank of Korea president and chairman Eun Sung-soo signed the loan agreement last June 4, with President Rodrigo Duterte and South Korean President Moon Jae-in as witnesses.

The loan amount covers about 86 percent of the total project cost of P10.1 billion. The Philippine Government will provide a counterpart fund of P1.4 billion.

The NCICP was endorsed by the Regional Development Council 7 to the NEDA-ICC in 2016. It is one of the projects for Central Visayas that is included in the Public Investment Program for 2017-2022, in the Central Visayas Regional Spatial Development Framework, and in the Regional Development Investment Program 2017-2022.

It will be built on a 25-hectare reclaimed land in Barangay Tayud, Consolacion and will have a 500-meter berth length that can simultaneously accommodate two 2,000-TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) vessels; operating facilities and structures for containers; an access road and bridge; and a dredged waterway and turning basin. (PR)