Harbor Star joins Cebu’s CLEX link’

MANILA, Philippines — Publicly listed Harbor Star Shipping Services Inc. has bagged a multi-million peso contract that makes it part of the landmark Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway project.

Under the P118 million deal, the shipping company would provide two specialized barges for the construction of the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CLEX), it said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

CLEX is a joint venture among Spain-based Acciona Construccion S.A., Philippine-based First Balfour Inc. and D.M. Consunji Inc.

“The joint venture is the main contractor for the 8.5-kilometer bridge that will connect Cebu City to the municipality of Cordova in the island of Mactan,” Harbor Star said.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), the main proponent which awarded the construction of the project to the joint venture, plans to spend P30 billion for the expressway.

MPTC, the tollways arm of MPIC, would fund the project by borrowing from local banks and through equity from the company, officials said earlier.

CLEX, an 8.5-kilometer toll bridge which would connect Cebu City from its prime South Road Properties to Barangay Pilipog in Cordova, is MPIC’s first tollway project in the Visayas.

The project is targeted to be completed by 2020.

Harbor Star Shipping, meanwhile, has been strengthening its marine ancillary services by offering port construction, pier repair and other marine port-related development.

Such continued aggressiveness in improving its services is in line with its vision to be the leading marine services provider in the Philippines, the company said.

As of the end of last year, Harbor Star has operations in 15 base ports all over the country. The major ports that the company services include the Manila International Container Terminal, Bataan, Batangas, Cagayan de Oro and Davao.

It presently maintains and manages a fleet of 40 tugboats, five barges, a cargo vessel, an oil spill response vessel and an anchor-handling tug supply vessel.