The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) inaugurated on Monday the country’s biggest passenger terminal building (PTB) at Calapan Port here.

The PHP353-million, three-story PTB was designed to provide comfort and convenience to as many as 3,500 passengers at any given time, according to Engr. Margarito Dimailig, Engineering Services Division manager at the PPA Project Management Office-Mindoro.

The new PTB, he noted, will be a game changer for in-bound and out-bound passengers in Oriental Mindoro as well as travelers from other provinces in Luzon such as Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan.

Dimailig said the PTB will play a major role in uplifting the tourism of the province and the entire Mimaropa region.

“It aims to provide more convenience and comfort to the sea-traveling passengers in line with the coming Holy Week,” he added.

Dimailig also noted that the majority of PTB’s employees are residents of Calapan and nearby towns.

Meanwhile, PPA General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago said the new PTB includes a play area, nursing station/clinic, first aid clinic, prayer room and all-gender restroom, and is equipped with escalators and elevators for passengers.

The PTB will be a tourist attraction on its own, he said, adding that the building features exterior walls with the “Pakudos”, which are common elements of the Mangyan arts and culture characterized by symmetrical, aesthetic, and orderly utilization of lines and space.

During the live-streamed inauguration program of the PPA, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, the guest of honor of the event, said the public deserves efficient services such as those promised by the PTB.

He thanked President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for supporting the project of former President Rodrigo Duterte under the “Build, Build, Build” program.

Duterte and Go were both present at the groundbreaking of the PTB project in November 2021. (PNA)