The Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) are set to inaugurate on April 14 the second Passenger Terminal Building (PTB) of the Port of Tagbilaran in the neighboring province of Bohol.
The DOTr, in a statement on Tuesday, said the event will mark the formal start of operations of the port’s new PTB which was completed on October 31, 2021.
The completion of the development project is an important milestone for Tagbilaran City’s main seaport after it sustained significant structural damage from a strong earthquake in 2013.
DOTr Secretary Arthur P. Tugade and PPA General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago will lead the inauguration, along with other officials of the national and local government in attendance.
The newly-completed PTB was constructed to augment the passenger capacity of the Port of Tagbilaran and to further provide the public with a more comfortable and convenient sea travel.
The existing PTB of the Tagbilaran Port can accommodate 497 passengers.
Meanwhile, with the completion of the new PTB, the port can now handle 613 more passengers – bringing the total passenger capacity to 1,110.
In addition to the completed two-story PTB, the PPA also constructed a pump house, installed concrete pavements, and built lamp post foundations at the port.
After the inauguration of the Tagbilaran Port’s new PTB, Tugade, Santiago, and other transport officials are expected to inspect another big-ticket infrastructure project – the Port of Maribojoc, also in Bohol.
The Maribojoc port is also one of the vital infrastructures in the province that was totally devastated by the 2013 Bohol earthquake.
With works in full swing, the Maribojoc Port Improvement Project is almost complete with 95.41 percent progress rate as of March 2021, the transportation department said.
“The improved Port of Maribojoc will serve as an alternate cargo port in the province. Once improvements are completed, the port is poised to help decongest the current traffic at the Port of Tagbilaran,” the DOTr statement said. (PNA)
