State-run Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is set to start the operation of the new passenger terminal building (PTB) of Tagbilaran Port in Bohol.
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade and Jay Daniel Santiago, PPA general manager, will lead the inauguration today, April 14, of the new PTB which was completed last October.
The PTB was constructed to augment the passenger capacity of the Port of Tagbilaran and further provide the public with a more comfortable and convenient sea travel.
The existing PTB of the Tagbilaran Port can accommodate 497 passengers. 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, PPA also constructed a pump house, installed concrete pavements and built lamp post foundations at the port.
After the inauguration of the Tagbilaran Port, transport officials are expected to inspect another big-ticket infrastructure project — the Port of Maribojoc, also in Bohol.
The Maribojoc Port was 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 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. – Myla Iglesias
