The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) – Port Management Office of Zamboanga (PMO Zamboanga) – has initiated termination proceedings against the current contractor of the Zamboanga Passenger Terminal Building due to delays in the completion of the facility, which began construction prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement, the PMO Zamboanga noted that the PHP2.5 billion provided under the Port Terminal Management Contract with Globalport Zamboanga Terminal Inc. (GZTI) is the minimum concession fee to be paid by GZTI to PPA under the 15-year term of GZTI’s concession contract.
It also said that the project is funded through PPA’s corporate resources and not from the General Appropriations Act.
However, PPA said that the completion of the Zamboanga Port project was unavoidably delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused substantial increases in the prices of construction materials and difficulties in mobilizing the required manpower. Despite these challenges, the contractor proceeded with implementation, albeit at a very slow pace.
The PPA has repeatedly issued formal notices and warning letters to the contractor to expedite the work. At the same time, PPA also took into consideration the difficulties encountered, granting time extensions where warranted.
At present, PPA said it is evaluating the possibility of the termination of the contract, citing operational concerns and the need to revise not only the project design but, more importantly, the port’s overall master plan in order to make it more relevant to the demands of the port users and the general public.
“The PPA assures the public that the matter is being addressed with urgency, with termination proceedings already underway against the current contractor,” according to the statement.
It underscored that, as a matter of policy, the PPA does not pay any downpayment nor mobilization payments and has not released any advance payments to the contractor.
To date, out of the reported 56 percent physical accomplishment, the contractor has only collected 18 percent of the total contract price. This ensures that, should the contract termination be finalized, sufficient funds will remain available to complete the project as planned.
Measures are also being implemented at the Temporary Passenger Terminal Building to help ease congestion and improve passenger comfort, including shuttle services, additional seating, and ventilation.
Its cargo operations continue to improve under GZTI, which has invested in modern equipment and facilitated new trade links, such as the regular calls of Regional Container Lines connecting Zamboanga to Malaysia and Singapore, the statement said.
