South Korea-backed Cebu port project to relaunch with increased budget—DOTr

The bidding for a new international container port in Cebu, backed by the South Korean government, will soon be relaunched by the Department of Transportation with a larger project cost.

Transportation secretary Jaime Bautista said they secured the approval of the National Economic and Development Authority to increase the project cost since the new amount exceeded the 10 percent threshold. 

Failed bid

Bautista cited the unsuccessful effort to privatize the New Cebu International Container Port project, located near Consolacion in Cebu, during the previous administration since cost estimates were based on 2017 figures. 

A bid bulletin in 2022 showed the project will cost around $200 million (P11.4 billion) to develop.

Korean contractors 

Of that amount, roughly 87 percent or $172.64 million will be loaned from 

the Export-Import Bank of Korea. This means South Korean contractors will be eligible to join the bidding. 

“We found out there’s a need to increase the cost of the project. We have already gotten approval for the increase in cost,” Bautista said during the Kapihan sa Klub meeting in Greenhills, San Juan on Wednesday. He did not elaborate on the new project cost.

Added capacity 

Based on previous project documents, the new container terminal project was meant to expand international container volume of the existing Cebu Baseport, which is located 11 kilometers away. 

During the meeting on Wednesday, Bautista also called on the private sector to support their various infrastructure programs.

Jaime Bautista, DOTr Secretary

"We hope that you can connect us to interested investors who will appreciate the business viability of our transport infrastructures. We welcome foreign participation in financing our infrastructure projects under a Public-Private Partnership arrangement.”