Thursday, December 04, 2008 Armm port to get a facelift
THE Polloc seaport in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) will be improved at a tune of P22.8 million to make it a premier trade gateway.
The money for the port's development will come from the Armm Social Fund Project, a program funded by the World Bank and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, fund manager Mustapha A. Sambolawan said.
Polloc port, which is located in the town of Parang in Shariff Kabunsuan province, covers an area of 123 hectares and has been identified as the Armm's premier maritime hub.
But the lack of some vital facilities and a concrete road network hampered its potential to become an international seaport and trading center.
"The improvement of Polloc port is a top priority of the regional government because of its huge economic importance," Sambolawan said.
Improvement works will include the concreting of the road network within the port zone and the installation of rubber fenders in the berthing area, he added.
Sambolawan said that 6,000 lineal meters of road with a pavement width of eight meters would make the movement of cargo in the port area more efficient.
Armm Governor Datu Zaldy U. Ampatuan said efforts to develop Polloc port support the operation of the Regional Economic Zone Authority (Reza), which was created by the Regional Legislative Assembly five years ago.
The Reza law was approved in a bid to attract investors to the impoverished Muslim region by offering incentives and tax holidays.
"We want domestic and foreign investors to locate at the port, that's why we are improving facilities there," Ampatuan said.
Zainudin S. Malang, executive director of the non-government Bangsamoro Center for Law and Policy, said that Polloc port has been underutilized.
"Even the Armm's banana exports are shipped out through ports outside the Armm and the irony is that these ports are already clogged," he said in a paper titled "The Bimp-Eaga and Asean Regional Integration and Their Relevance to the Armm."
Bimp-Eaga stands for Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines-East Asean Growth Area.
Malang suggested that to become a major port of call in these sub groupings, there should be a marketing plan to convince shippers and shipping companies to ship their goods through Polloc port.
Polloc port is large enough to become a major free port, he noted.
Ampatuan said his administration envisions making Polloc port a premier gateway of trade and commerce not just in mainland Armm and Central Mindanao but throughout the Bimp-Eaga.
