Terminal for Guimaras pumpboat passengers eyed
City Mayor Jerry Treñas said the plan to construct a pump boat terminal at the Fort San Pedro is now under way after Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Angelo Reyes made a positive response on the request of the city government for a P10 million budget.
Treñas said the terms and conditions for the construction of the terminal is now being finalized in the regional level. The proposed terminal will rise at the Rotary Park wherein the Philippine Coast Guard is currently located.
He said they will look for another area for the Coast Guard to occupy. The area will be developed to give passengers more comfort, accessibility and a better structure. At present, there is no structure like a terminal that serve as shelter for passengers for heat and rain. They only have a canopy.
The chief executive said tourists always complain that there is no good pump boat terminal from Iloilo City to Guimaras. The plan to construct a pump boat terminal will erase the bad impression made by tourists especially the foreign tourists on the non-availability of a terminal to cater to the need of the passengers.
Currently, there are two pump boat pick up points in the city, the one in Ortiz which caters to pump boats that dock in the town of Jordan and the other pick up point is in Fort San Pedro. It is near the proposed new pump boat terminal.
The plan for the construction of a pump boat terminal is also a joint effort between Iloilo City and Guimaras, both of which are members of the Metro Iloilo Guimaras Economic Development Council (MIGEDC).