Cebu City traders wary over China firm’s entry

CEBU CITY—Businessmen here expressed apprehension over a report that deals are taking shape between the government and a Chinese company that had been on the blacklist of the World Bank for corrupt practices.

Edmund Tan, Cebu Ports Authority (CPA) general manager, said he would exercise caution in dealing with Mega Harbour and China Communication Construction Co. Ltd, which is said to be on its way to bagging a contract to develop the Cebu port in a project that would cost P16 billion.

“We will evaluate them properly as CPA is the sole agency in charge of all port development in the province of Cebu,” said Tan, referring to the Cebu International and Bulk Terminal (CIBT) project in the northern Cebu town of Consolacion.

Another business leader, Gordon Alan Joseph, said the government should avoid “companies with dubious reputations.”

Joseph, president of the Cebu Business Club, said he does not worry about the government’s shift in focus from the United States to China as long as Chinese firms with dubious records are kept out.

Ted Locson Jr., Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) vice president for external affairs, said the report that the Chinese firm being considered for the CIBT project had been blacklisted by World Bank for corruption is worrisome.

“We can only hope that government will be able to have a check and balance system for this type of project,” he said.

The business sector, Locson added, continues to advocate transparency and good governance.

The Chinese firm Mega Harbour, which is on the World Bank blacklist, is proposing to reclaim 85 hectares of land in Consolacion to build a berthing facility to increase Cebu’s capacity to accommodate more international vessels.

The CPA plans to build an international container port on a 12-hectare area in the same site found in Mega Harbour’s proposal.

Mega Harbour recently entered into an investment deal with the state-owned Chinese firm CCCC Dredging Company for the Cebu International and Bulk Terminal project.

The deal was signed during President Duterte’s visit to China last week where Mr. Duterte secured a total of $15 billion in investment pledges.

CCCC Dredging is a subsidiary of China Communication Construction Co. (CCCC) Ltd., which in 2011, was sanctioned by the World Bank for the fraudulent practices of one of its other subsidiaries.

China Road and Bridge Corp. (CRBC) has been on the World Bank blacklist since 2009.