Newly upgraded Palawan port ready to serve tourists, travelers
MANILA, Philippines – To further boost tourism and mobility, especially during peak season, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) on Wednesday unveiled the newly-renovated Port Operations Building (POB) of Coron, Palawan.
In a statement, the PPA explained that the POB’s capacity had been increased from 250 to 500 and can even go up to 700 to 900 passengers during peak season – average daily passengers reach around 500 and are anticipated to further increase during the Holy Week.
According to PPA General Manager Jay Santiago the new Coron POB will boost not only tourism in the surrounding provinces of Palawan, but also mobility and trade.
“This will not only bring tourism and trade to the surrounding provinces of Palawan, but this will also bring connectivity and mobility to the people and tourists of Palawan,” Santiago said in the statement.
Apart from the increased capacity, the new POB is now also fully equipped with nursing areas and restrooms for every gender.
PPA Port Management Office of Palawan (PMO) port manager Elizalde Ulson, for his part, stressed the timeliness of the POB’s completed renovations citing the decreased number of flights to Coron.
“Sa totoo lang, base sa mga pasahero naririnig natin sa kanila na mas convenient na ngayon kasi hindi na sila mababasa kapag naulan at world class na rin mismo yung pasilidad dahil mula sa pantalan may view kana,” Ulson stated.
(Based on the passengers, we hear from them that it is more convenient now because they won’t get wet when it rains and the facility itself is also world-class because it has a view from the dock.)
He explained that the port of Coron acts as a point of entry to Palawan’s most popular tourist destinations. El Nido, Palawan, can be reached from the dock in 45 minutes and 30 minutes to get to the places like Barracuda Lake, Twin Lagoon, and Kayangan Lake.
“Ito na po yung pangalawang proyekto na pinasinayaan natin ngayong Marso, ang susunod na po ay ang pinakamalaking passenger terminal building sa buong bansa sa Port of Calapan sa Oriental Mindoro, tuloy-tuloy po tayo para sa ika-giginhawa ng mga gumagamit ng pantalan,” Santiaga noted.
(This is the second project that we inaugurated this March, the next one is the largest passenger terminal building in the whole country at the Port of Calapan in Oriental Mindoro, we will continue for the comfort of the users of the port.)
Meanwhile, apart from constructing the backup area of 5,000 square meters, constructing an additional 51 meters of wharf with 2 roro ramps has also begun. – Kimberly D. Albaño, intern