The Cebu provincial government will be the one to build a new port in Santa Fe town in Bantayan Island in northern Cebu.

Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has announced during her meeting with the tourism stakeholders and local officials in Santa Fe that the Cebu Port Authority (CPA) has approved the Capitol's request to construct a new port in the said town.

Garcia said the Capitol will be the one to construct the new port while addressing the problem of sand erosion caused by the existing Santa Fe Port.

'Samtang naghimo ta sa bag-ong port, duna tay buhaton anang existing nga patagaan gyud og kaagian ang tubig, aron ang kaning padayon nga pagkalkal mamitigate nato ba. Grabe na kaayo ang sige og kalkal,' Garcia said.

According to the governor the existing port in Santa Fe which is made of concrete blocks the free flow of seawater resulting to uneven distribution of sand.

'Kay lage sukad nga gihimo kanang port dinha sa CPA ambot, giunsa na nila og design ang akong nasayran ang orihinal na design dili man unta solid na, mga poste na aron libre ang tubig,nga mag-agi agi aron dili maka-cause og imbalance kay kon imo gud na pugngan ang tubig diring dapita dili na makalahos, modaghan na padulong diri, kan-on na ang balas,' Garcia explained.

The Santa Fe Port is the gateway of passengers especially tourists from the mainland Cebu who want to visit the pristine white sand beaches of Bantayan Island.

The Capitol had sent letters to CPA since 2021 seeking approval that the province would be the one to finance and develop a new port since the CPA has no budget for the project.

The estimated fund needed to construct the new port is P500 million. The Capitol has already set aside the said amount for the construction but the CPA told the governor that they will be the one to implement the project by phase.

However, the governor insisted that there's an urgent need to address the sand erosion in the white sand beaches in Santa Fe and the Capitol is interested in financing the project. It took three letters before the Capitol got an approval from CPA, according to Garcia.

Garcia told the stakeholders that CPA also gave authority to the province to operate the new port once completed. The new port that will be constructed soon will allow the free flow of water underneath it.

 

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