PRIME property with deep-sea capability for berthing frigates and submarines has been identified in the 3,000-hectare Phividec Industrial Estate in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental has been identified as the possible site of the Philippine Navy naval base.
Phividec administrator Lawyer Joseph Donato Bernedo said the estate authority and the Philippine Navy have started talks on how to acquire the property which was formerly intended for a shipyard for a big industrial concern. This deal did not come through.
“The land has deep-sea capability. It is good for the navy ships and submarines and is already cleared of any obstruction,” Bernedo said.
Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. said the naval base at Phividec estate would become the center of Philippine Navy operations in Northern Mindanao and the Visayas.
Teodoro said the naval base would have the advantage of a good road system that could interconnect to Caraga, Central Mindanao, and other parts of Mindanao in case of calamities.
“We are very eager to start the installation of the facilities as soon as possible. We are just waiting for the go-signal from the Office of the President,” Teodoro said in his visit to Lumbia air base here early this month.
Bernedo said while they are eager for the navy base project to proceed, he would caution Navy officials that they have more than 209 business locators in the estate and trade is their primary concern.
On Thursday, Phividec signed a 25-year extension to the Mindanao Container Terminal Inc, (MICTSI), a subsidiary of businessman Enrique Razon, who operates the container terminal operations at the estate.
The Razon-owned subsidiary committed a US$100 investment to build a 300-meter berth extension and terminal equipment to boost its present 350,000 cargo containers handling.
