Government lashes out at GMA ports project proponents

THE GOVERNMENT has lashed out at proponents of the controversial Greater Maritime Access (GMA) Ports Project for comparing the latter’s French-made facilities with locally built ports in an apparent attempt to get the public to support a deal that has been described to be riddled with anomalies.

Reacting to reports, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said it would be unfair to compare the costs to build ports made by French consortium Eiffel Matiere SAS and locally built facilities in Cagayan de Oro, Tacloban and Negros Oriental.

“The Port agency believes that it is not appropriate to make a comparison between the costs of the abovementioned three PPA projects with the GMA modular roll-on, roll-off (RoRo) ports, considering the enormity of the scope of work and the magnitude of the facilities in those major key ports compared with the French modular RoRo port,” PPA General Manager Juan Sta. Ana said in a statement.

Earlier this week, Eiffel Matiere’s local proponent was quoted as saying that the steel ports made by the French company for around P143 million each would be much cheaper for the government to build.

Eiffel Matiere cited the planned development of the RoRo port in Cagayan de Oro, which could cost around P372 million.

But Sta. Ana said the higher price was justified since the CDO port was designed to accommodate 1,500 passengers at any given time. It will also be able to serve long-haul RoRo vessels.

In comparison, the GMA Modular RoRo port can cater only to small roll-on roll-off vessels. The French port’s Passenger Terminal Building will also have a smaller area of 64 square meters and may accommodate a maximum of 55 passengers.

The Department of Transportation and Communications earlier said it wanted the government’s contract with Eiffel Matiere—involving the construction of 72 modular RoRo ports around the country—to be either renegotiated or scrapped.