Key players on the island of Mindanao are pushing for an integrated logistics highway or corridor that would link the northern area to the south where two big economic centers in the region are located.
Vic Lagdamen, president of Mindanao Federation of Shippers Association (MINFESA), said the link would enable greater mobility of goods and people and propel Mindanao’s socio-economic development.
The proposal was presented to the government during the first Mindanao Logistics Conference held on November 25 to 26 in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental with the theme: “Southern-Northern Mindanao Logictics Corridor: Key to Fast Track its Economic Development.”
The conference was attended by 200 strong delegations from shippers, shipping lines, cargo forwarders, service providers, representatives from private sector and government agencies.
Lagdamen said the expressway would not necessarily be the one passing through the current national highway, as long as it will “facilitate a faster movement of goods and people”.
Northern Mindanao is also being pushed as a main corridor and the proposed integrated logistics and transportation plan should also include Zamboanga, Caraga and other regions in Mindanao.
He said the plan should figure significantly with the recent infrastructure boost in Mindanao, like the recently built Mindanao Container Terminal, the expansion of seaports and airports, and improvement of national roads.
Lagdamen said the approach must be more comprehensive in tackling the overall logistics needs of Mindanao.
Prior to the conference were consultations made in Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga and their sectoral issues and concerns gathered in the consultations were also presented at the conference.
Lagdamen said they will forward the conference resolutions to concerned agencies like the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and to aspiring presidential candidates, saying “the new administration should already have a buy-in into the idea”. [PNA]
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