RORO Reduces Transport Costs, Says Mendoza

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Secretary Leandro Mendoza has reported that the roll-on roll-off (RORO) transport system has reduced travel costs by 40 percent for passengers and 30 percent for cargo.
In his report, to the people, Secretary Mendoza said that travel time from Mindanao through Visayas to Luzon was also reduced by 10 hours. Efforts to further improve the system and reduce costs are ongoing, he said.
The reduction in both costs and travel time was due to the establishment of the Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH), connecting islands through a systemic linkage of land and water means of transportation.
In a special report to the Office of the President, Mendoza said that the DoTC has been pursuing vigorously its mandate to establish an integrated and strategic transportation and communications system that will facilitate the movement of goods, services and people within, as well as to and from the Philippines.
"Our islands have to be interconnected by good transport and communications networks that will open up new economic opportunities, reduce transportation and transaction costs of business and increase access to social services," Mendoza said.
According to Mendoza, to improve further the SRNH, the DoTC is engaged in fully implementing executive Order No. 170, issued by President Arroyo on January 22, 2003, promoting private sector investment in the Road RORO Terminal System (RRTS).
The RRTS aims to: 1. reduce transportation costs, specifically the costs of inter-island transportation, through the establishment of a safe, efficient and cost-effective seamless transport network through Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, 2. enhance tourism, transportation and commerce throughout the country, 3. facilitate the government’s agro-fisheries modernization and food security programs, 4. promote private sector participation in the establishment, construction and operation of RRTS facilities, and 5. establish a new policy to promote the development of RRTS. /MP