P1-B cruise ship port plan in Legazpi City gets DOT approval

LEGAZPI CITY—A billion-peso investment under a public-private partnership (PPP) project will bring a state-of-the-art international passenger cruise terminal in this premier tourism city, according to Mayor Noel Rosal.

Rosal said the project is now in the drawing board of the Department of Tourism (DOT) for endorsement to the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza).

The proposal includes a request for a P400-million funding to jump-start the construction of the cruise terminal project along the Legazpi City Boulevard in Barangay Dapdap here.

Rosal said he recently met with and presented to Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. the project’s proposal, study and design. Jimenez approved the project and endorsed it to Tieza.

With Jimenez’ endorsement, Rosal said he was optimistic that the project would be approved and funded by Tieza.

Tieza is an attached agency of the DOT mandated to develop, manage and supervise tourism infrastructure projects in the country.

The project design involves the construction of a seaport that can accommodate a 300-meter length overall passenger cruise ship, said Carole Mendizabal, the Philippine Ports Authority’s (PPA) port services division manager here.

Mendizabal on Thursday said that the standard size of an international cruise ship ranges from 250 to 300 meters in length.

Following international terminal standards, the berthing area would have to be approximately 300 to 400 meters in length and about 72 to 100 meters in width, she added.

If the project is realized, Legazpi will be the second city in the country to have an international cruise terminal.

Mendizabal said only Tagbilaran City in Bohol province has such a facility. All ports elsewhere are regular ports, she added.

Mendizabal said the fish port at the city boulevard would be an ideal site for the international cruise terminal project, as it will require a land area of about 2 hectares for the pier deck, berthing area, an administration building, a bus bay or bus and truck terminal, among other facilities.

“We expect several ocean liners to drop anchor here, bringing with them thousands of tourist from all over the world when it is completed,” Rosal said.

Records from the DOT showed that foreign tourist arrivals in Albay have been rising fast, leaping to 339,000 in 2013 from 8,700 in 2006.

Legazpi Boulevard is considered an ideal site as it is just a kilometer away from the city center. It is a 5-km four-lane seaside concrete road, which is now being extended and connected to the Bicol International Airport (BIA), a P4.6-billion project now being built in Barangay Alobo, Daraga town, about 10 km from Legazpi City. The BIA is expected to be completed in 2017.