Trade hub plans for Tawi-Tawi pushed
Credit to Author: CARMELA I. HUELAR| Date: Mon, 01 Apr 2019 16:32:28 +0000
Developing Tawi-Tawi’s full potential and taking advantage of its strategic location in the map of maritime business will position the Philippines firmly as an important transshipment hub and open a lot of economic opportunities for the country.
This is according to Datu Mohd Kudhar Sultan Kiram, chairman of the Sultanate of Sulu Corporation Ltd., a Hong Kong-registered company and a major partner and investor to the proposed development of Tawi-Tawi as a center of commerce in the region.
A prominent member of the Sulu Royal Family and appointed court administrator of the Interstate Estate of Sultan Hajdi Mohd Julaspi Kiram Ibni Almarhum Sultan Hadji Mohd Jamahlul Kiram, Datu Kudhar was present during last week’s groundbreaking ceremony for the project.
With him in the event were Chinese investors and the chief executive officer of his company, Dato Seri Radzlan B. Abu Bakar who facilitated the visit to Tawi-Tawi of the businessmen from China.
The group of investors will also have a separate press conference this month in Hong Kong to announce more plans for the project.
The initial investments will focus on building port infrastructures and modernizing the outlying areas, Datu Kudhar said. Advanced facilities will be built to pave the way for a seamless logistics center, he added.
“A modern transshipment hub should mean we can offer a world class port facilities and infrastructure – a faster turnaround time for all ships that want to make use of such facilities,” he pointed out.
“Singapore and Hong Kong are the most expensive hubs, but only because they offer the fastest turnaround time for ships. For an owner, the longer these vessels stay at the port, the more expensive it is for them,” he said.
“When ships come [to Tawi-Tawi], business will boom and all the other provinces will develop at a faster pace,” Datu Kudhar said. He said the project is Mindanao’s support for the Build, Build, Build program of the government.
Tawi-Tawi is bounded by the Sulu and Celebes seas, which are the busy lanes for international merchant vessels that pass the area regularly. An estimated 52,000 cargo vessels and other ships use these sealanes every year.
Leading the proponents for the project is Tawi-Tawi ex-governor Hadji Sadikul Adalla Sahali and his son Nurjay Sahali who helped facilitate the initial talks with the Chinese investors.
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