International container port eyed in northern Aurora

By Jason de Asis

CASIGURAN, Aurora, February 9, 2011-The Philippine government and the South Korean government eyed an international container port inside the Freeport zone of the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone (APECO) here to accommodate the export products of five (5) provinces in the boundaries of Central Luzon and Northern Luzon.

APECO deputy administrator Ramon Fernando told newsmen here that the Korean Export-Import Bank has already commissioned a consortium composed of the Dasan Engineering and DY Engineering companies to do the feasibility study for three (3) months for the international container port through the extension of a $300,000 or roughly P15-million grant.

Last month, Fernando said that a high-level team from the consortium led by project coordinator Shan Sheonghan Kim conducted an ocular inspection of the site of the container port project in Pagas Point in Barangay Dibacong along the Casiguran Bay.

Kim was accompanied in the trip by Korean engineering coordinators Se Wook Yeo, Ji Hoon Lee and Hyuk-Yoon Kwon where the delegation was very much impressed with the potentials of an international container port in Casiguran.

“Bidding of the project was already conducted last December in South Korea,” said Fernando, adding that with the presence of an international container port, products for export will no longer have to pass through the container port in Manila and the container port project will accommodate produce in the provinces of Isabela, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino. (Jason de Asis)