THE Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) sees no immediate need to pursue the roll on-roll off (ro-ro) port project of the previous administration, considering some existing facilities are underutilized.
In the last nine years alone, the port agency constructed 98 ro-ro ports costing P8.7 billion, PPA general manager Atty. Juan Sta. Ana said. What needs to be done, he noted, is to simply improve existing facilities.
“There are 40 ro-ro ports in various parts of the country where there is no traffic so if we will build another 72, as being pushed by some quarters, we will just be wasting money because nobody will use them,” Sta. Ana said.
“Right now, the PPA is looking for investors and doing some marketing so that the 40 ro-ro ports can be put to use.”
The controversial P11.78-billion ro-ro port project, also known as GMA (Greater Maritime Access) Port project, calls for the fabrication, supply and delivery of various modular port components to 72 areas across the archipelago.
Former Transport Secretary Jose de Jesus recommended that the project be scrapped for being too costly and unsuitable to Philippine conditions. The transport committee that studied the project said only two of the proposed 72 ro-ro ports may qualify for the project.
“The French modular steel port measuring 3.5 meters by 25 meters is not suitable to the Philippine setting… the country can on its own provide locally available materials suitable to each specific port site and sea condition in the Philippines,” Sta. Ana said.
This year, the PPA has set aside P1.5 billion in capital expenditures to improve and modernize various gateways.
