A big step towards industrialization

PANGASINAN has a coastline that stretches 285,661 kilometers. This long shoreline, an entryway into one of the biggest provinces in the country in terms of land area and population, has not been tapped for its many potentials, including leaving it sandwiched between two international ports: the Subic port in Zambales on the south and the San Fernando Port in La Union.

But we see a major change happening now with the construction of the Sual Port, which finally broke ground last week.

The provincial government is banking on this project, a commercial seaport for both cargo and passenger ships, to open a multitude of opportunities and spur the province towards what the Espino administration calls “long-delayed economic development”.

The first phase of the project, which should be completed in a year’s time, has been contracted out and it would be pretty safe to assume that that part of the project at least will be realized. This tinge of pessimism stems from the fact that it is election year, and anything can still happen. Should there be a change in administration, we certainly hope that the Sual Port will not be dropped like a hot potato by the next administration. In Philippine politics, the players have not been known to be judicious about dismissing worthy initiatives taken by their predecessor if only for the sake of bitterness over legacy.

The national agencies that are chipping into this undertaking – the Department of Transportation and Communication and the Philippine Ports Authority – have a crucial role to play in ensuring that the Sual Port is seen through its construction all the way to the last phase regardless of the political circumstances in the province. The municipality of Sual, which stands among the major beneficiaries of the project as the host town, must also add its local muscle to bring the Sual Port to full completion whoever wins the election in that town.

Maximizing the full potential of the port will require parallel initiatives to develop the province’s various economic sectors: agriculture and aquaculture, mining, tourism, and perhaps manufacturing if the 300-hectare eco-tourist zone in northwestern Lingayen is also seriously pursued.

The groundbreaking of the Sual Port points to a promising direction for the province, notwithstanding the emerging rabid political partisanship we are witnessing today. This bodes well for all Pangasinenses who have long dreamt of seeing Pangasinan not only as an industrialized area but as a truly economically developed province.

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