A NEW Cebu international port project in Consolacion town in northern Cebu is expected to decongest the Cebu City port when completed in two years, reports the Cebu Daily News.

It is hoped work on the PHP10.1 billion (US$205.9 million) New Cebu International Container Port (NCICP) in Tayud, Consolacion can start before the end of the year.

Cebu Port Authority general manager Leonilo Miole said he is hopeful for the project to still meet its timeline despite possible delays brought by the Covid-19 crisis.

The NCICP, expected to be a long-term solution to the growing volumes handled at the Cebu International Port (CIP) in Cebu City, is to be completed in five years.

Last January, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) issued the notice of award for the US$5.4 million consultancy services for the NCICP project to South Korea-based Yooshin Engineering Corporation.

Following the procurement of the consultancy services, Miole said the procurement for the civil works of the NCICP project is set to start this October.

The NCICP project is part of the Duterte administration's Build, Build, Build infrastructure programme.

In 2018, the Philippine government and South Korea's Export Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) signed a $172.64 million loan agreement for the construction of the project on a 25-hectare reclaimed area in Barangay Tayud, Consolacion.