‘Nautical Highway’ project on

President Arroyo and her Cabinet led yesterday the test run of roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) vessels and inaugurated the so-called "Strong Republic Nautical Highway," which would facilitate faster road and sea travel from Manila to Mindanao and vice versa.

The "Nautical Highway" covers 919 kilometers through 17 provinces and reportedly cuts travel time by 17 hours.

The caravan, which will tour the country aboard ro-ro vessels, began yesterday at the Batangas international port and will end at the Dapitan City port in Zamboanga del Norte tomorrow.

"Under this project, trucks could now be boarded from Mindanao all the way to Luzon and vice versa without unloading their products in every port," the President said in an interview with radio station dzRH.

"We hope that this would make prices of products cheaper to Luzon consumers and would also raise the income of farmers in Mindanao," she added.

Maritime Industry Authority administrator Oscar Sevilla said the caravan also aims to promote local tourism.

The actual date of commercial operations is scheduled on April 12 in time for the summer vacation. — Marichu Villanueva, Jose Aravilla and Joe Leuterio