THE Roll-on/Roll-off (RoRo), which will connect Davao and General Santos City to Bitung, Indonesia is scheduled to set sail on April 28, an official of the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.
In an interview, DFA spokesman Charles Jose said the formal launching of the Davao-General Santos-Bitung, Indonesia shipping service would be personally graced by President Rodrigo Duterte and Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
“The launch of the Davao/General Santos – Bitung Shipping Service is one of the target priorities for the Philippines’ Chairmanship of the Asean in 2017,” Jose said.
Jose said the Ro-Ro project was expected to spur not only the economic development of Mindanao and increase the per capita income of the Philippine coastal communities but also of the outlying islands including the main Sulawesi Island, particularly North Sulawesi.
Last week, the Philippine delegation of the inter-agency Task Force for the Operationalization of the Asean Ro-Ro and their Indonesian counterparts met and discussed the project.
During the meeting, Jose said both countries discussed their port infrastructure readiness; the policy and institutional framework and the arrangements needed to realize the route; the identification of the different types and volumes of tradable cargo through the route; the lifting of trade restrictions on toys, medicines, and shoes at Bitum Port; the draft Memorandum of Understanding between the Philippines and Indonesia; and other preparations for the maiden voyage.