PH’s First Barge Terminal Set to Open in November

Hailed as the first container barge port in the Philippines, the Department of Transportation (DOTr), is set to inaugurate the Cavite Gateway Terminal (CGT) in Tanza on November5.

A project under the Duterte administration’s Build Build Build Program, the CGT will allow trans-shipment of cargo from international ports in Manila to Cavite via barges and Roll-on Roll Off (RoRo) operations. By moving cargo and people out of the roads and into the waterways, it would decongest traffic in major roads.

The terminal will also be integrated with other major Luzon port facilities for a cost-effective and time-bound access to the Cavite market.

Set to grace the inauguration are President Rodrigo Duterte, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade, Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go, DPWH Secretary Mark Villar, DOF Secretary Sonny Dominguez, DBM Secretary Ben Diokno, NEDA Secretary Ernesto Pernia, BCDA President Vince Dizon, and officials from concerned Local Government Units (LGUs).

“We are an archipelago, so this is really a no-brainer. Matagal na dapat ito. Madalas congested ang mga kalsada na papunta sa mga port, at ito ang magiging solusyon dyan. This project is also proof that when the government and the private sector work together, beautiful things can happen,” DOTr Secretary Tugade said.

The CGT, which was privately funded by the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), has a capacity of 115,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). Projections indicate that the terminal will result in approximately 140,000 fewer truck trips annually. It is also expected to reduce road traffic by almost two kilometers of trucks once fully operational.

The terminal is also only 11 kms. away from the Cavite Export Processing Zone Authority (CEPZA), whose users could be ideal clients of the facility. Passenger ferry services from Cavite to Manila and vice-versa will also be made available in the future following discussions between the government and the operator.

The construction for the CGT started in October 2017 and was completed in about a year. Earlier this September, barge operations have already started as part of the dry-run prior to full operations.