Misamis port to undergo P733 million expansion

MANILA, Philippines — The secondary port to Cagayan de Oro will undergo a P733 million expansion that would gear it up for more capacity to support provincial demand two years from now.

The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is bidding the P732.77 million deal to expand and restore the Port of Opol, considered as the alternative port to Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental.

The winning bidder for the contract will be given 720 days to finish two segments of the project: first, demolition, removal and excavation; and second, the upgrade of the berthing facility.

Based on the invitation to bid, the PPA will hold a pre-bid conference for the contract on Oct. 4. The agency will close the submissions and open the proposals on Oct. 17.

The Port of Opol, completed in 2019, sits 15 km from the Port of Cagayan de Oro. It was built by the PPA to mitigate the port congestion in Cagayan de Oro, helping also in the easing of road traffic caused by trucks.

In particular, the Port of Opol serves as a docking site for domestic tramping vessels, facilitating the entry of goods from the west of Misamis Oriental.

Apart from the expansion of the Port of Opol, the PPA is bidding the P23.01 million contract to improve the passenger terminal building (PTB) of the Port of San Carlos in Negros Occidental.

For this one, the PPA will extend the contractor 300 days to complete the project, focused mainly on the extension and refurbishing of the PTB of the port.

In aviation, the Department of Transportation is calling on consultancy agencies to look into the P59.65 million package to assess the development of the Kalibo International Airport. Whoever wins the contract will be tasked to firm up a master plan for the gateway.

By segment, the consultant will come up with a travel demand and market analysis, forecasting the 20-year future of the airport. It will also develop a master plan detailing the best way to run the gateway sustainably.

On top of this, the agency is bidding a P22.09 million deal for the detailed engineering design of the PTB of M’lang Airport in Cotabato.

The consultant to be hired for the project will be mandated to complete a master plan for M’lang Airport and to draw up a conceptual design for its PTB.