Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Republic of the Philippines

Ambassador Lee Sang-hwa attends groundbreaking ceremony for the New Cebu International Container Port (NCICP)

Ambassador Lee Sang-hwa, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Philippines, attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the New Cebu International Container Port (NCICP) on Wednesday, February 5. The construction of the NCICP is a project supported by the Export Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) of the Export-Import Bank of Korea, and was awarded to HJ Heavy Industries, a Korean company, to build a new large port in Consolacion, 10 kilometers northeast of Cebu Port. The groundbreaking ceremony was held just over a month after the signing of the civil works contract for the Cebu New Port Project at Malacañang Palace on Wednesday, December 18, in the presence of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

The groundbreaking ceremony was also attended by the Philippine Department of Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista, Cebu Governor Gwendolyn F. Garcia, Congressman Sonny L. Lagon, Congresswoman Daphnne A. Lagon, Mayor Teresa P. Alegado, Export-Import Bank of Korea Executive Director Hwang Ki-yeon, and Cebu Consul General Song Sewon.

“The construction of the new port is expected to significantly improve Cebu's cargo handling capacity and logistics efficiency, attract investment, and have a positive ripple effect not only on Cebu but also on the entire Visayas region,” said Ambassador Lee Sang-hwa in his congratulatory remarks at the groundbreaking ceremony, calling the project “An important project to transform Cebu into a key maritime hub in Southeast Asia and an important step towards shared prosperity between the two countries.”

The Secretary of Transportation and the Governor of Cebu expressed their gratitude for Korea's continued support and cooperation for the development of the Philippines, and emphasized that the project will have a positive impact on improving the quality of life of Filipinos.

 Cebu is located in the center of the Philippine archipelago, making it an important hub for maritime transportation. Since Korean tourist are the Philippines top visitors, and with the entry into force of the Korea-Philippines FTA on December 31, trade and cargo volumes between the two countries are expected to increase significantly in the future, the NCICP is expected to be an important base for economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

In addition, the Philippines is a country with a high demand for large-scale infrastructure construction such as airports, seaports, railways, roads, and bridges in the Indo-Pacific region, and infrastructure cooperation was discussed as a major agenda item at the Korea-Philippines summit in October last year. The groundbreaking ceremony for the NCICP is also a follow-up to last year's bilateral summit, which elevated the relationship to a strategic partnership.

The New Cebu International Container Port is expected to be a new milestone in further developing the cooperation between the two countries, which was upgraded to strategic partnership last year, and the two countries will continue to work closely together for sustainable development and mutual prosperity.

*Attachment: Photos from the ceremony.

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