Northern Tri-City ferry project ready for PPP

MANILA, Philippines — Preparations for the Tri-City Ferry System Project that aims to decongest the traffic flow in the northern part of the country has started.

The joint venture between Philkoei International Inc. and KPMG RG Manabat & Co. is preparing the feasibility study and  contract under a public-private partnership (PPP) and bid documents for the project.

The JV was engaged by the Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA), a multi-donor trust fund managed by the Asian Development Bank.

The project preparation study will cover environmental and social assessment for the project to ensure that all aspects related to environmental and social safeguards, and necessary mitigation measures are considered.

The study will also prepare a climate and disaster risk vulnerability assessment to identify potential threats and risks due to climate and geo-hazard conditions in the service areas.

Stakeholder consultations will also be conducted to identify critical issues and prepare strategies to address them.

The ferry system aims to connect the regional, provincial, and city hubs, especially the government and commercial hubs within the three cities, with minimal stops to limit the overall transit time between the main embarking and alighting piers.

This would allow traffic decongestion and also boost the tourism potential of the loop and the whole region, and in turn, rejuvenate coastal communities and help environmental and urban renewal.

Meanwhile, the private partner for the project will finance, design, construct, operate and maintain the ferry terminals and floating piers.

It would also be  in charge of the provision of ferry services to traverse major demand centers, including maintenance of the vessels, and existing rules and regulations on sea navigation.