The government will review the P19-billion Davao Sasa Port Modernization Project to resolve project cost and capacity issues, state-run Philippine Ports Authority said over the weekend.

“I think the intention is to proceed with the development of the port. However, considering the issues, the initial discussion in terms of policy with Transportation Secretary [Arthur] Tugade is to review that first and let’s see,” PPA general manager Jay Daniel Santiago told reporters.

Santiago said the port authority and the Transportation Department would evaluate the project in terms of capacity and cost.

“We have to evaluate that on how we will implement it. Either we adopt whatever is on the table or implement it based on the projected volume and projected cost. We will try to determine if we can still implement it at a more reasonable level,” Santiago said.

“It will be done. It is just a matter of how big or how small the project will be,” he said.

The Sangguniang Panglungsod ng Davao issued a resolution in December 2015, stopping the Sasa port bidding because of “the irregular procedure as well as the various questions raised against the Sasa Port Modernization project,” which was allegedly “being bid out without prior consultation and expressed approval of the local government as provided for by the Local Government Code.”

The city council resolution cited Section 2 (c) of Republic Act 7160, or the Local Government Code, which provides that national agencies and offices should “conduct periodic consultations with appropriate local government units, non-governmental and people’s organizations and other concerned sectors of the community before any project or program is implemented in their respective jurisdictions.”

The Transportation Department recently prequalified 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.

17 July 2016
By Darwin G. Amojelar