The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) will be spending P120 million next year for the upgrading of Virac port to enable the facility to cope with growing passenger and cargo volume.

Last week, the ports regulator invited qualified contractors to submit bids for the Virac Port Rehabilitation and Improvement Project on or before the Dec. 19, 2024 deadline.

With an Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) of P120,070,768.77, the project is expected to be completed within 450 days from receipt of the Notice to Proceed by the winning contract.

Under the project, the existing damaged RoRo (Roll-On, Roll-Off) ramp at the left side of the pier will be removed, along with the concrete piles connecting it to the seabed.

Then the same ramp, with an area of 100 square meters, would be reconstructed and fitted with rubber dock fender and accessories.

At the right side of the main pier, a continuous RoRo ramp approximately 50 meters wide will be constructed, along with the paving of 935 square meters of port operational area and the reconstruction of 349 square meters of pavement in the same area.

About 51 meters of the existing breakwater damaged by previous typhoons will also be improved and will involve the placement of two layers of armour rocks weighing at least 2,000 kilograms each and with a total volume of 4,506 cubic meters.  Its core would be formed by 1,190 cubic meters of rocks weighing between 50 to 100 kilos each.

The Tribune requested information from the PPA management aty the port of Virac on its passenger and cargo volume for 2024 and the past two years but an official said it would have to sift through their records.

According to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Catanduanes Provincial Statistical Office, the total cargo traffic in the port of Virac amounted to only 41,294.35 metric tons last year, less than half of the 94 metric tons unloaded in 2022 and about a third of the 131 metric tons reported in 2021.

On the other hand, the same cargo data was not available for San Andres port for 2020 and 2021 while for 2022 and 2023, the PPA reported only about 5,000 metric tons and 1,250 metric tons, respectively.

This disparity in the numbers as to cargo traffic could be due to incomplete reporting of data by the PPA as it appears unbelievable that the San Andres port accounted for only 1,250 MT of cargo for 2023 when more RoRo vessels use the port on a daily basis compared to Virac port although all or majority of cargo vessels dock at the latter port.

As for passenger traffic, the number of passengers using Virac port doubled from 44,308 in 2021 to 90,391 in 2022, with the figure increasing to 96,107 last year.

However, the capital town’s number of ferry passengers pales in comparison with San Andres port’s 463,559 in 2023.

On a daily basis, four RoRo vessels of the Regina Shipping Lines (RSL) departed from and arrived at the San Andres port on a daily basis last year, compared to only two at Virac port.

The Cardinal Shipping Lines, however, increased its daily trips to two, while the other company, Penafrancia Shipping Corp., fields one vessel.