DAVAO CITY—Cotabato City is expected to embark on its biggest infrastructure construction binge yet next year with an airport and a seaport on top of the list of projects lined up for implementation.
This developed as the Duterte administration has been revisiting, or revising, its list of projects funded under its “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) program.
It could not immediately ascertained if the construction of the two port facilities are in the unrevised list of BBB projects list but the city mayor’s office said the two big-ticket projects will be build through a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement.
The city mayor’s office has described these “megaconstruction” projects as getting Cotabato City “one step closer to being one of Mindanao’s top transportation hubs.” Both ports are of international standard and would be the two largest infrastructure projects in the city’s history.
Also set to begin construction next year is the China-Cotabato Friendship Technical School to help train the manpower pool requirement of the projects, as well as for future labor needs of the city, according to Cotabato City Mayor Frances Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi.
“All of these three projects will be undertaken by the China Engineering and Construction [Shenzhen] Co. Inc. and the city government of Cotabato through a public-private partnership scheme,” the mayor said.
She said groundbreaking of the international airport would be held before the end of the year after more than a year of negotiations and study.
Sayadi said the three projects “are the results of steadfast relations between the people of Cotabato City and China” and described the three projects “not merely a business partnership but a brotherhood rooted deeply through the years.”
“Many Cotabatenios, including myself, have Chinese blood in them and that’s what connected us with our friends from this construction company. These projects will surely bring more progress and change our lives,” she added.
The three projects needed approximately 15,000 workers, from carpenters and masons to laborers and other construction-related work.
The city mayor’s office said representatives of the China Engineering and Construction (Shenzhen) Co., headed by Mr. Yi Bin Liu and Ms. Tingting Yang, arrived in Cotabato City on November 10 to oversee the initial phase of the construction of each project.
The company earlier sent its engineers and architects to Cotabato City to present the blueprints for the three projects to the city officials, including the city engineers and architects.
They also conducted various surveys of the construction sites.
The airport would be located at Tamontaka 3, 4 and 5 while the seaport would be built in Barangay Kalangalan at the foot of Timaco Hill. Site of the technical school is at Tamontaka Mother.
Cotabato City used in development compared with other cities in Mindanao, mainly because of the periodic armed conflict in central Mindanao mounted by the two major Moro revolutionary fronts. Economic activities are commonly confined to agricultural trading, with the city strategically as a trading center for the Cotabato areas that have been dubbed as the country’s rice bowl.
The city relies on the Awang airport located in Datu Odin Sinsuat town, Maguindanao, and on the Polloc Port located in Parang town, Maguindanao, for air and sea transport.
The airport is classified as a major domestic airport and was listed as the 23rd busiest airport in the Philippines. It served 298,345 passengers last year. It has a runway length of 1,900 meters, or almost 2 kilometers.
2 comments
That is a good development for City of Cotabato in order to rise their living away from filthiness of conflict reckoning from decde.It is now time to move on and let said City to be known as a peaceful City of the South.
Id like to start a business in Cotobato City. Can I get more information please. Thanks.