Palawan ferry to boost two-way tourism
Published on: Friday, August 07, 2015
Kudat: A ferry passenger service from here to Palawan, Philippines which is expected to commence end of this year or at the latest by early 2016, will give an edge to Sabah's tourism with Kota Kinabalu becoming a gateway for tourists to visit Palawan via the district.Sabah Palawan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SPCCI) Executive Secretary Dato' Freddie Sua said there is no doubt that the service will also boost tourist arrivals in Sabah apart from complementing government efforts to improve the industry.He said the ferry service would render mutual benefits to Sabah and Palawan in terms of tourist arrivals. ADVERTISEMENT "Presently, there is no direct international flight from Kota Kinabalu to Palawan or vice versa. "Visitors need to fly from the State capital to Manila before catching a flight to Palawan, which would be costly for them compared to going from here to Palawan by ferry."I strongly believe that the ferry service from Kudat township to Brooke's Point in Palawan has merits to increase the State's tourist arrivals."Sabah tour operators who focus on dealing with inbound tourists could take advantage of this ferry service by bringing their clients to the northern part of Sabah which is here and also to Palawan that also has its own world class tourist destinations," he said.ADVERTISEMENT Freddie who is also Total Megalink Sdn Bhd Managing Director said this to Daily Express during a Raya Open House hosted by SPCCI Chairman Datuk Amir Kahar bun Tun Mustapha at the Astana residence of his late father Tun Mustapha Harun here.Amir Kahar is also Chairman of Total Megalink Sdn Bhd which has an official agreement with one of the chamber's members, Archipelago Philippines Ferry Corporation, the owner of the ferry service.
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The ferry service for passengers and cargo is part of a 'Roll On, Roll Off' (RoRo) ferry service which will be operational at the latest, by early next year once a jetty is completed by end of this year.Special Tasks Minister Datuk Teo Chee Kang was also reported as saying that the Federal Government had allocated RM8.84 million to construct facilities at the jetty in preparation for the coming RoRo services. As for the trial run for the ferry service that was initially scheduled for middle of this month, Freddie said much would depend on weather conditions."We were made to understand that the weather in August is going to be rough… thus, for safety reason, we will start the trial run at the latest by early September."The trial run will involve a catamaran ferry that will only transport about 300 passengers at a time and not cargo because the present jetty here can only accommodate passenger ferry."Once a project to equip the jetty with the required special ramps is completed end of this year, it will be able to cater to high-speed ferry carrying cargo and cars as well as passengers," he said.According to Freddie, Sabah Ports Authority (SPA) is building the jetty with the special ramps to facilitate the 'Roll On, Roll Off' (RoRo) ferry service. Freddie said the trial run would continue for few days with each trip expected to take seven hours. To a question, he said passengers are not allowed to bring their cars as both sides (Malaysia and Philippines) are in the midst of getting approval to get permits that would allow them to do so."I believe that the Palawan government has no problem to allow passengers from Sabah to bring along their vehicles like Proton and Perodua vehicles to their place as these types of vehicles could ply the small roads in Palawan."Many roads in Palawan are small as much of the population use motorcycles there."Therefore this is also an apparent advantage for passengers from Sabah as they could bring in their vehicles because renting vehicles in Palawan is quite costly," he said, adding that SPCCI is currently working with the relevant authorities to obtain the permits.On security clearance, Freddie said both sides – Sabah and Palawan – are getting such clearance from their respective enforcement authorities."The Palawan government is in talking terms with Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) to get the 'go ahead' to fully operate the ferry service because Esscom has the curfew on Sabah waters."They are asking for special consent not to impose the curfew on the ferry service operating from here to Palawan and for security forces from both sides to be on standby."As for Palawan, I was made to understand that they are ready because their security forces have a presence at their top tourist destinations and they have similar concerns, like us, about outsiders entering Palawan and leaving the island," he said.He said passengers' details would be provided to both authorities and biometric data obtained in keeping to immigration requirements."Actually I see no reason why the security clearance could not be given because even at this stage, there is an on-going trade via sea on a smaller scale from Kudat to Palawan and vice versa."So, when we have the RoRo ferry service that could transport cargo, the trade can be done on a bigger scale, benefiting the business communities on both sides," he said.While the Palawan traders are exporting their seafood products to Kudat, Freddie said they are buying essential items from here such as small quantities of rice, cooking oil and other food items using small boats.He said the whole idea of establishing this RoRo ferry service is to ensure trade between the two areas (Kudat and Palawan) will be facilitated and accounted for by both governments.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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"That is why we formed SPCCI in early July this year so that all this trade can be accounted for and approvals from both government authorities made known to both sides."Hence, traders can be informed about documents or permits that must be obtained in order to engage in a larger scale business on both sides," he said.