THE Department of Transportation and Communications is studying the possibility of constructing bigger ports in Mindanao to bring down shipping cost from economies of scale, while helping boost agricultural production, beef up opportunities for building bulk handling facilities, and create more farm jobs.
DOTC Secretary Mar Roxas said during the recent Wharton Penn Business Forum in Makati that rather than build small ports in each of the country’s islands -- which total to thousands -- the government is considering putting up bigger ports in farm centrals.
This will be aligned with other economic and infrastructure plans such as the building of bulk handling facilities -- for efficient transport and storage of agricultural goods -- and of major highways by the Department of Public Works and Highway.
“For Mindanao, we can concentrate on a few enlarged ports, and transform them into bulk handling ports. We are working very closely with DPWH so that the ports that we’ll enlarge will then benefit from the construction of wider roads,” Roxas said.
The plan will have a far-reaching, favorable economic impact on agricultural production and trade.
