The Transportation Department may cancel the bidding of the P19-billion Davao Sasa Port Modernization Project because of cost and capacity issues.
“I visited it and then in the last meeting of the PPA [Philippine Ports Authority] board, I told them to take a look, reevaluate it, and if it’s necessary to modernize it on the basis of the previous plan—P4 billion, then let’ s do it,” Transportation Undersecretary for maritime sector Felipe Judan said.
Judan said the P19-billion project cost of the Davao Sasa project was not “justifiable” because of the small traffic volume.
He said there were other existing ports in Davao such as the Davao International Container Terminal Port.
“It will not increase the output. Why you will spend so much. So, it’s better to improve it to make it more efficient on existing volume,” Judan said.
He said the Davao Sasa project could still be pursued under public-private partnership, but at a lower cost.
“Instead of just becoming cargo, it can also be a tourism port because there’s RoRo,” Judan said, referring to roll-on, roll-off vessels.
Judan said the agency was coordinating with the National Economic and Development Authority about the new proposal.
“So, hopefully this will develop good,” Judan said.
The Transportation Department recently pre-qualified Asian Terminals Inc., International Container Terminal Services Inc., Bollore Africa Logistics, Singapore-based Portek International Pte. Ltd. and San Miguel Corp. for the Davao Sasa Port project.
Sasa Port is actually designed for break bulk cargo vessels, which is vital to the economy of Davao City.
About 500,000 metric tons of steel, wheat, fertilizer, motor vehicles, heavy equipment and other cargo not suitable for containers went through Sasa Port in 2014, according to PPA data.
The Davao Integrated Port and Stevedoring Services Corp., an operator at the Sasa port, said the the current capacity of Sasa stood at 700,000 twenty-foot equivalent units.
The yearly volume handled by DIPSSCOR, a subsidiary of ICTSI, was only 300,000 TEUs.