Shipyard ecozone in Cebu pushed to keep maritime billions onshore

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu should consider developing a dedicated shipyard economic zone to capture a larger share of the billions of pesos in maritime business now being carried out overseas, the Philippine Coastwise Shipping Association has said.

Cesar Acosta Licudine, officer-in-charge administrator of the Philippines Coastwise Shipping Association, said Cebu’s position as the country’s main domestic shipping hub makes it a natural location for an integrated maritime industrial zone covering shipbuilding, dry-docking, repairs, shipbreaking and other related services.

The proposal comes as the Philippines’ domestic shipping industry faces a basic capacity problem— the country has more than 20,000 active ships but only about 130 shipyards, according to 2025 data from the Maritime Industry Authority. Many of those facilities require rehabilitation and a large proportion can handle only smaller vessels.

As a result, roughly 90 percent of shipbuilding for Philippine operators is carried out overseas, particularly in other Asian markets, Licudine said.

That dependence represents both a vulnerability and an investment opportunity for Cebu.

“A shipyard economic zone in Cebu will have a huge impact on Cebu’s economy,” Licudine said, arguing that it could attract capital, create skilled jobs and provide stronger domestic support for the country’s growing shipping industry.

Licudine, who was one of the participants at the Cebu Economic Forum hosted by the Cebu Provincial Government, said potential sites are already being considered in northern and southern Cebu, including areas on the eastern side of the province. He added that representatives from major business groups had also begun exploring the prospect.

The proposal would effectively seek to turn Cebu from a consumer and operating hub for maritime services into a production and maintenance center.

Such a shift could have implications beyond the shipping industry. Developing local capacity for vessel construction and repair would reduce the need for Philippine operators to send vessels overseas, retaining more maritime spending within the domestic economy while creating demand for engineering, fabrication, logistics and other specialized services, he said.

Licudine also called for a north-to-south accessway linking Cebu’s major ports, arguing that better connections between maritime gateways and the province’s industrial and commercial centers would reduce the cost of moving people and goods.

The two proposals — expanded maritime infrastructure and improved land connectivity — should be viewed as part of the same economic strategy, he added.

Lower transport and logistics costs could improve supply-chain efficiency, reduce losses and help moderate inflationary pressures by allowing savings to move through the supply chain to consumers.

“Better ships, better ports and better roads mean lower logistics costs,” Licudine said. “And finally, lower logistics costs can help keep prices under control.”

For Cebu, the opportunity extends beyond building another industrial facility. A competitive maritime cluster could connect the province’s established strengths in shipping, manufacturing, engineering and education, while giving investors a platform to serve a domestic fleet that currently relies heavily on foreign shipyards.

The challenge will be turning the proposal into bankable projects, with suitable land, infrastructure, environmental safeguards, financing and a regulatory framework capable of attracting long-term private investment.

If those pieces can be assembled, Cebu could begin capturing a larger share of a maritime value chain that it currently helps operate but does not fully own.