THE Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) has agreed in principle to build a commercial sea port in Pangasinan through a joint venture with the provincial government, which is at the same time mulling the construction of a fishing port in Bolinao.

Provincial Administrator Rafael Baraan, speaking last Thursday at the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkasters sa Pilipinas (KBP) Forum in Dagupan, said the planned commercial seaport will be built at Baquioen Bay in Sual along the Lingayen Gulf, considered bigger than the present area of the Sual Fish Port earlier proposed for the project.

Provincial and DOTC officials, including those from the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), will hold a series of meetings soon to map out the joint venture project that will also involve the Sual municipal government.

Baraan said the project was initially discussed when Governor Amado Espino Jr. and Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza met during the Philippine Military Academy alumni homecoming last month at Fort Del Pilar in Baguio City.

The commercial seaport, according to Baraan, is needed for industrial purposes to support the province’s mining industry.

The province is rich in metallic and non-metallic minerals, including sand and gravel of industrial quality which are in high demand in neighboring countries.

“We do not have a seaport to be able to move these products that we have in abundance,” he said.

Pangasinan, he added, shares a common boundary with Zambales, through the Zambales mountain range, and could develop mining operations similar to those of its neighboring province.

A commercial seaport will complement the mining industry, which is seen to boost the province’s economy and create employment opportunities.

The proposed commercial seaport is in addition to the planned fishing port in Bolinao, which will allow the province can take advantage of the big tuna traffic in that area.

Baraan said there is an existing commercial volume of tuna passing Bolinao and fishermen and businessmen engaged in this venture will benefit from the fishing port.

“We are going to keep our eyes open for these opportunities. We are looking not just government support but even private investors to cash in on these projects,” Baraan said.

He also announced that a 300-hecrate area in Barangay Estanza, Lingayen has been allocated for an envisioned eco-tourism zone that will complement the commercial seaport in Sual as well as the fishport in Bolinao.

The eco-tourism zone will accommodate private sector investment.

Baraan added that one basic requirement in the zone would be an airport somewhere in Lingayen that can serve as a hub of Northern Luzon.

“If you look at it, Pangasinan is the center of an economic hub, which includes Clark and Subic, Baguio and the Northern Luzon area,” he said.—LM

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