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The New Cebu International Container Port finally broke ground on Feb 5, 23 years after the first project feasibility study was conducted
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The P16.93-billion NCICP will be built on 25 hectares of reclaimed area in Tayug, Consolacion, Cebu and connected to the mainland by a 300-meter offshore bridge and 1.3 km inland road
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With a 500-meter-long berth and water depth of 12 meters, the port should be able to accommodate two vessels with a capacity of 2,000 twenty-foot equivalent units at any given time
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Its yard can hold 14,400 TEUs at any given time
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Annual cargo handling capacity will be 375,900 TEUs
The New Cebu International Container Port (NCICP) officially broke ground on February 5, 23 years after the first project feasibility study was conducted.
The groundbreaking follows the issuance of a notice to proceed last January 6 to the port’s civil works contractor, Korean firm HJ Shipbuilding and Construction Corp.
READ: New Cebu port construction may now finally begin
Expected to be operational in the second quarter of 2028, the P16.93-billion NCICP is being built on 25 hectares of reclaimed area in Tayug, Consolacion, Cebu and connected to the mainland by a 300-meter offshore bridge and 1.365-kilometer inland road.
With a 500-meter-long berth and water depth of 12 meters, the port should be able to accommodate two vessels with a capacity of 2,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) at any given time.
The container yard, to be equipped with five quay cranes, can hold 14,400 TEUs. Annual cargo handling capacity will be 375,900 TEUs.
In a statement, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the NCICP will open up space for vessels and cargoes, addressing congestion at the Cebu Base Port and ensuring faster turnaround of commercial vessels while improving handling and container stacking facilities — all of which promote faster and more cost-efficient transport of goods.
“This redistribution will pave the way for a seamless flow of goods and services, ensuring our economy remains robust and dynamic,” Bautista said during the groundbreaking ceremony.
With the new cargo port, the transport chief said bottlenecks in the logistics chain will be alleviated, with users generating savings on vessel waiting as well as cargo transport and congestion-related costs while seeing higher income from land leases.
“The benefits of this project extend far beyond its physical structure. It is expected to generate a wide array of advantages for users, the local community, and the public sector,” Bautista explained.
Other expected advantages are more job creation, greater local business opportunities, development of regional industries, increased global competitiveness of Cebu industries, and the establishment of Cebu as a regional logistics hub.
National and local governments will also have increased tax revenues as well as environmental cost savings due to better operational efficiencies and modern technology, said Bautista.
Apart from the transport chief, the ceremonial groundbreaking was attended by Transportation undersecretary Elmer Francisco Sarmiento, Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Sang-Hwa, Presidential Assistant to the Visayas Terrence Calatrava, Consolacion Mayor Teresa Alegado and Vice Mayor Joannes Alegado, and Cebu Port Authority general manager Francisco Comendador III.
The issuance of the port’s NTP follows the signing of the contract with HJ Shipbuilding on December 18, 2024, the same day the transaction advisory services agreement (TASA) with World Bank-International Finance Corp. (IFC) was inked.
Sarmiento earlier said IFC will be the transaction adviser for the public-private partnership (PPP) component of the project and will develop the terms of reference for the bidding of the operations and maintenance (O&M) and purchase of five quay cranes for the terminal.
Sarmiento said the project has two approaches: civil works which will be funded by official development assistance from Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM), and the purchase of quay cranes that will be under a PPP.
The Philippine government and KEXIM in 2018 signed a $172.64-million loan agreement for the NCICP. The Philippine government will provide the counterpart funding of P1.28 billion.
Following the signing of the TASA, Sarmiento said they are targeting to commence bidding for the O&M within 13-14 months from mobilization of the IFC as transaction adviser, or by the first quarter of 2026.
Once operational, Sarmiento said NCICP will handle international cargo operations while the Cebu baseport will service domestic and bulk and breakbulk shipments.
The new international terminal is seen as the long-term solution to growing volumes handled at Cebu International Port, which currently handles foreign cargoes at Cebu baseport.
Groundworks for the NCICP was to have originally started in August 2022 while the civil works component was bid out in 2022, and won by HJ Shipbuilding. The project encountered delays in procurement because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
DOTr had also sought the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board’s approval to hike project cost which has grown since the first Board approval in 2016.
Last year, the NEDA Board greenlit the changes to parameters in the NCICP Project, increasing the project cost to P16.929 billion from the initial P9.962 billion, while the new implementation period is up to June 21, 2028.
Several feasibility studies, the most recent one by KEXIM, suggest locating the new sea hub in Tayug, Consolacion, some eight kilometers from the Cebu base port.
The project is one of the government’s big-ticket infrastructure flagship projects. – Roumina Pablo
(More information on the New Cebu International Container Port will be provided at the Visayas Shipping Conference and Exhibit 2025 on February 27, 2025 at the City Sports Cebu (Sinulog Grand Ballroom). To register go to https://bit.ly/VSC2025.)
