By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad
The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) opened on Monday the biggest seaport terminal in Oriental Mindoro as it beefed up capacity to address the growing passenger volume ahead of the upcoming Holy Week and summer break.
The new terminal building at Calapan port in Oriental Mindoro can now accommodate 3,500 passengers, more than double the 1,600-passenger capacity previously.
It features a prayer room, improved breastfeeding area, all-gender restroom, escalators and elevators.
PPA general manager Jay Daniel Santiago said the new terminal was an initiative aimed at making sea travel more convenient and comfortable for the passengers, especially during peak season.
To recall, long queues of passengers at the Port of Calapan were observed during the first days of 2023 as people returned to school and work after the holiday break, which required additional deployment of ships.
At the time, Elvis Medalla, port manager of PPA Port Management Office-Mindoro, said that tents and canopies had been placed to shelter the waiting passengers.
Santiago, as such, said earlier that the new terminal building was the long-term solution to accommodate the demand for sea transport given the influx of passengers.
Prior to this, PPA recently inaugurated the new terminal at the Port of Coron that doubled the capacity to 500 passengers. The project also included the construction of an additional 51-meter wharf with two roll-on, roll-off ramps.
The agency also opened the bigger port operation building at Port of Masbate earlier this month, which can now accommodate 542 passengers from only just 100 previously.