Rapid economic growth in Basilan seen with new Lamitan port.

BASILAN --- Security officials are certain the completion of the P150 million worth seaport in the capital of this island province will hasten the restoration of normalcy in conflict-stricken communities.Chief Supt. Theodore Sindac, police director of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, on Saturday said he is sure the newly-expanded seaport in Lamitan City will generate livelihood opportunities for local folks.Lamitan City and neighboring towns are home to mixed Muslim and Christian settlers engaged in propagation of rubber trees, coconuts and coffee they sell to buyers in Zamboanga City, an hour away from the island province by sea.
Employment generated by economic activities can help foster peace in the local communities. Without jobs, unemployed adventurists become susceptible to recruitment by lawless elements, Sindac said.
It took engineers almost a year to expand the so old Lamitan City port, according to Engineer Soler Undug, chief of the Basilan District Engineering office.The port was turned over on Friday to the city government of Lamitan by regional and provincial officials led by ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman and his older sibling, Basilan Gov. Jim Hataman.Engineer Don Loong, ARMM’s public works secretary, was also present in the turnover rite, capped off with the opening of the port to public use.The 220-day implementation of the port expansion project involved the Basilan DEO, the Department of Public Works and Highways-ARMM and the Santiago Construction Company.Undug said the old port was expanded to boost the connectivity of Lamitan City and all towns in Basilan to trading centers in Mindanao and other parts of the country.The project was bankrolled with a P150 million grant from the annual infrastructure subsidy of ARMM from the national government.The yearly infrastructure budget, allocated for various projects in the region with permission from the House of Representatives and Senate, is channeled through the Office of the Regional Governor, touted as the Little Malacañang of the autonomous region.

Undug said they have extended the structurally obsolete ramp of the Lamitan City port by 80 meters. The port's deck was also widened by 21 meters, he added. Now it is enough for berthing of large `roll-on and roll-off ships’ carrying passengers, small vehicles and trucks loaded with goods from major trading ports in nearby regions, Undug said on Saturday.The vice mayor of Lamitan City, Roderick Furigay, who is a senior member of the city’s peace and order council, said they are expecting an immediate increase in importation of consumer goods from other parts of the country by local merchants following the expansion of their port. We are in an island province separated from major trading centers in the country by seas. Without this facility, we can hardly take off economy-wise, Furigay said.Lamitan City has barely bounced back from devastation wrought by conflicts in past decades.Furigay said they are also expecting an increase in local revenues as a consequence of a foreseeable boom in trading activities the expansion of the port will bring inSenior Supt. Nickson Muksan, Basilan’s provincial police director, said they will secure the port tightly to ensure the safety of all ships that are to dock in the facility. We acknowledge the importance of economic activities in curbing lawlessness, Muksan said.