CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Community projects funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) continued in Mindanao in support for the government’s economic development program in the island.

In a statement sent to the Manila Bulletin, Undersecretary Virgilio Leyretana of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) said the government project funded by AusAID now focused on the airport and seaport in this city as well as the Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT) located at the Philippine Veterans Industrial Development Corporation (Phividec) in Tagoloan town, Misamis Oriental.

It was learned that the said projects already received a total of P750,000 worth of equipment and capability building support.

Leyretana said the allocation is part of the P3.75- million equipment and capability-building assistance to priority ports in Mindanao and Palawan such as Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, General Santos-Sarangani, Cotabato, and Puerto Princesa City in Palawan.

Dubbed the “Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines–East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Support,” the project specifically donated P500,000 worth of equipment support to the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippine (CAAP) in this city and P50,000 to MTC to support its capability building activities.

Leyretana said that Mindanao and Palawan are gradually gaining momentum towards increasing trade, tourism and investment in the BIMP-EAGA by improving the delivery of services to the ports.

He added that a secured, coordinated and harmonized operations at the ports can attract more investors which plows back more income to the city and generate more job opportunities.

Port Manager Efren Bollozos said that the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras they received is a big help that will help them monitor the entry and exit of passengers as well as cargo ships and goods in the seaport premises.

Bollozos said the installation of CCTV cameras came in time with the security audit of the port conducted by the Office for Transportation Security (OTS), the single authority responsible for the security of all modes of public transportation systems in the country.