South Korean Firm Begins Construction of New Cebu Port in Philippines

 

After a long delay, the construction of the New Cebu International Container Port (NCICP) in the Philippines has finally kicked off. The Transportation Secretary Jamie Bautista in company of other senior government officials this week led the groundbreaking ceremony for the port. The $290 million NCICP is located in Tayud, a district at the northern end of Cebu City.

The project was first mooted in the early 2000s but experienced approval delays. However, in December the government gave the contractor the green light to begin civil works. President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. signed the project contract with the Korean company HJ Shipbuilding.

“This project is set to improve Cebu’s cargo handling capacity, alleviate congestion at the existing facility (Cebu Baseport) as well as establish Cebu as a regional logistics hub. The construction is expected to be completed by 2028,” said Cebu Port Authority (CPA).

The project involves transforming 60 acres of reclaimed land into an international container port with an annual handling capacity of 395,000 TEU. The terminal will have five quayside cranes, a 500-meter berth and a water depth of 12 meters. This will allow the terminal to accommodate two 2,000 TEU feeders at any given time.

The NCICP project is being implemented under a bilateral partnership between the Philippine and Korean governments. The Import-Export Bank of Korea (KEXIM) is contributing around $172 million and the rest is coming from the Philippines’ national government. The International Finance Corporation of the World Bank is acting as the transaction adviser.

“NCICP will significantly boost economic engagement between the Philippines and South Korea, especially with the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), which came into force on December 31. Trade and cargo volumes between the two countries is expected to increase significantly in the future,” said the Korean Embassy in Manila.

With the Philippines working to improve connectivity and supply chains within its 82 provinces, the country has announced major port expansion projects. Last month, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) issued tenders for the expansion of three major ports worth $14 million. The targeted ports include San Jose Port in the Province of Dinagat Islands, Roxas Port in Oriental Mindoro and Guinsiliban Port in Camiguin.