THE Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), Cebu Port Authority (CPA) and the Cordova Municipal Government will jointly expand the town’s port to accommodate cruise ships.
This was announced by Secretary Adelino Sitoy, chief of the Presidential-Legislative Liaison Office and former Cordova mayor.
Corodova Mayor Therese “Tetsie” Sitoy-Cho, his daughter, can enter into a contract with the PPA and CPA to implement the project, he said.
Sitoy said the PPA, with a private investor through a Public-Private Partnership, will construct a terminal and reclaim at least 25 hectares to put up more facilities for cruise ships.
Sitoy said the CPA will regulate and supervise the Cordova port.
And since the CPA has a provision in its charter that it is authorized to reclaim land for port expansion, Sitoy said there is no need to secure a permit from the Philippine Reclamation Authority.
Sitoy said if a cruise ship, which carries a lot of passengers, can be accommodated in Cebu, this will spur economic growth.
He said that last April 16-17, SM provided 100 passenger trucks to transport 6,000 foreign tourists from the Manila North Harbor to the Mall of Asia.
“How I wish this will happen in Cebu. We are targeting the expansion and renovation of the old Cordova Municipal Port to be completed by the end of the year, so we can cater to cruise ships by next year,” Sitoy said.
Sitoy said the CPA did not want to mix cruise ships with regularly docking domestic and foreign vessels on mainland ports, so they picked Cordova right across the channel.