Rama revives plan to ban container yard operations in Cebu City

An aerial shot of S. Osmeña Road and the Cebu International Port at the North Reclamation Area in Cebu City. | CDN Digital file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama is again considering the possibility of imposing a ban on container yard operations here as a means to address traffic congestion especially in roads that are located close to the ports of Cebu City.

He first introduced the idea about 12 years ago or in 2010.

Since then, Rama said, he never saw any improvements in the operation of container yards in the city.  What he saw instead was the continuous “mushrooming” of container yards at the North Reclamation Area and the worsening congestion problems there.

“Hangtod karon, if you go around that area diha [sa NRA], daghan kaayo [ang container yards]…,” he said.

Rama said the time has come for him to take his plan to ban container yard operations in the city more seriously.

“Because we wish to have the road, especially for traffic, [and the presence of] big container vans [will] definitely add up to [the] problem on traffic,” the mayor told CDN Digital in a phone interview.

As soon as he is able to finalize his plans, Rama said that he will be issuing a directive to give operators of container yards six months to transfer their operations elsewhere.

“..then eventually we’ll see if an ordinance is needed or what,” Rama added.

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/dcb

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