Pioduran port now Albay's trade gateway to VisMin

PIODURAN, Albay  ,Philippines – The recently inaugurated port here has made this once rustic fishing community a primary Luzon gateway of the Central Nautical Highway to the Visayas and Mindanao.

Complete with modern roll-on, roll-off facilities, the Pioduran port is projected to unlock Albay’s backdoor to the south.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda formally opened the Port of Pioduran with Pioduran Mayor Dante Arandia and third district Rep. Fernando Gonzalez.

Officials of the Philippine Ports Authority and executives of at least three shipping lines who launched their respective maiden voyages to Masbate, the Visayas and Mindanao also attended the event.

Salceda said all factors augur well for Pioduran as Luzon’s gateway to the south from among the existing ports in the Bicol region.

It complements another Albay seaport, the Port of Pantao in Libon town. Both face the South China Sea, but Salceda said Pioduran “will soon emerge as the most active RORO port while Pantao will essentially cater to heavier and larger ships.”

The port’s rock causeway and its RORO ramp were completed at a cost of P60.4 million and P14 million, respectively.

Salceda said the Masbate-Manila bus lines would now pass through Pioduran town since the Ligao-Pioduran Road is now well paved. Ligao City is Pioduran’s exit to the national highway to Manila.

Montenegro Shipping Lines, Medallion Transport Inc. and Santa Clara Shipping now dispatch an average of at least 10 trips a day. By November, Salceda said the Bicol Express Railways Transport will start its operation.