Study aims to address Mindanao’s ‘fragmented’ transport system

Motorized bancas are the main mode of transport from Bongao to the rest of the island towns of Tawi-Tawi province. File photo by KARL BALLENTES

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 26 July) – The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) is set to conduct a Mindanao Intermodal Network System study that seeks to provide information that will guide plans for the island’s public transportation projects and make its network system seamless.

Yvette Valderia, Project Development Division chief of MinDA, said in an interview on the last day of the two-day Mindanao Development Forum at the Acacia Hotel here on Thursday that Mindanao’s public transportation system from land to sea and air is “fragmented”.

“When we say intermodal, it uses different modes of transportation and we make it seamless… The ideal is that it has to be connected seamlessly, so that’s what we are aiming – to have a seamless type of public transport in Mindanao,” she said.

She said the study will be a “good source of information” and will contain policy recommendations that will guide the government in implementing infrastructure projects to achieve a seamless transportation system.

She said Mindanao has several seaports and airports but these are not connected.

She said land, sea, and air transportation must be interconnected because it will help promote industrial development and boost the island’s export industry.

“We need an efficient system so that we can move goods and services,” she said.

Last Wednesday, the MinDA signed a memorandum of understanding with the US Agency for International Development-Regulatory Reform Support Program for National Development (USAID-RESPOND) for its continuing support and technical assistance to the crafting of the Mindanao Intermodal Transport Logistics Study.

“The unique Mindanao configuration for transportation requires an upgraded network system, that is why, we intend to update the Mindanao Intermodal Network System study in order to ensure seamless and functional transport system development for Mindanao,” MinDA secretary Leo Tereso Magno said.

In an information released by MinDA, the USAID-RESPOND through U.P. Public Administration Research and Extension Services Foundation, Inc. or UPPAF will provide technical assistance in the conduct of the study, provide resource persons for the training, and provide resource persons and technical inputs on regulatory impact assessments, economics, and governance.

It said MinDA collaborates with USAID-RESPOND in designing activities and preparing documents and sharing data and documents relevant to the preparation, finalization, and providing technical inputs and administrative and logistical support in organizing stakeholders’ consultations and training workshops. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)