By Sarwell Q. Meniano
TACLOBAN CITY, April 5 (PNA) – The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is now checking existing seaports in Eastern Visayas as part of formulating the region’s seaport master plan.
The evaluation is in response to a proposal of the Regional Development Council (RDC) to connect the three primary islands of the region through nautical highway.
“The said concerns have been referred to the engineering office for evaluation and assessment of the configuration of the PPA ports within the Leyte, Samar and Biliran provinces,” said Raul T. Santos, PPA assistant general manager for operations in a letter to RDC.
The RDC passed the resolution during the council’s meeting on Oct. 27, 2014 in Palo, Leyte. The council sent a copy of the resolution to Department of Transportation and Communication Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya late last year.
The council’s vice chairperson and NEDA Regional Director Bonifacio Uy hopes that formulation of the plan will be completed within the year.
Uy said the proposed master plan will encourage inter-island commerce and trade as well as domestic tourism in the region, hence creating more employment opportunities.
“Much like roads and highways on land, the seaport master plan will be a highway through the sea using roll-on-roll-off (RoRo) ferry terminals and RoRo vessels to link the islands,” he said.
The RDC pushed for the formulation of the plan considering that shipping remains the major infrastructure that connects island provinces in the region to commercial hubs. (PNA)