Casiguran seaport completed

CASIGURAN, Aurora,,  – The P63-million, 212-meter seaport in this coastal town north of Aurora has finally been completed, which could enhance transport of goods from Taiwan and neighboring countries, its contractor announced yesterday.

Cavacon Corp., the contractor tapped to build the seaport and the P157-million Casiguran Airport, said that the seaport, which is equipped with Ro-Ro facilities for shipside loading for small vessels, can accommodate feeder-type vessels that will bring goods to and from Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

The project could have been completed earlier but it has been re-designed with the major part of the work – concrete piles, core rock and super structures already finished.

Cavacon said that Phase 2 of the airport project is also nearing completion and might be finished before the end of the year. Phase 1 of the project, which involved clearing, grubbing, earthworks and construction of the perimeter fence, was completed in October 2007 at a cost of P15 million.

The completion date for the airport, originally set last July, was moved to the latter part of this year because the elevation of the project site has been raised from 0.9 meters to 1.5 meters, at same level with the economic zone. If the project site’s elevation has not been raised, Cavacon said the site of the airport would become a lagoon.

The airport would house a 480-square meter apron, a taxiway, terminal, administration building and others. It can accommodate 80-seater planes, nearly double the 40 to 50 passengers projected by the Air Transportation Office.

Cavacon, which has built at least four airports already, said that the airport in this town, originally envisioned to become a domestic airport but which has since been upgraded into an international airport through a P100-million additional funding from the national government, would connect Casiguran to Manila via the Baler Airport, to Isabela through the Cauayan and Palanan Airports and to Cagayan Valley through the Tuguegarao Airport.   

The completion within the year of the twin projects, a brainchild of Sen. Edgardo Angara, would complement the sprawling Aurora Special Economic Zone (ASEZ) which is expected to start commercial operations next year.

The senator said the economic zone, the first in the Pacific, could evolve into a miniature version of the Clark Special Economic Zone.  

Gov. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo said that the two projects would help promote tourism and lure investments and connect the province economically to the rest of the world.

She said several potential investors, particularly Chinese and Taiwanese, have signified interests to pour their investments in the province but are merely waiting for the completion of vital infrastructure projects.