UNDER RESTORATION. An aerial view of the ongoing reconstruction and upgrade of the port of Marawi in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur on Friday (Oct. 20, 2023). The Philippine Ports Authority said the project is 70 percent complete and will be fully operational by October next year. (Photo courtesy of PPA)
MANILA – The restoration of the Marawi port in Lanao del Sur is 70 percent complete and is expected to be fully operational by next year, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said Friday.
The first phase of the restoration will be completed by February next year and will be fully operational by October, PPA spokesperson Eunice Samonte said in a statement.
“Definitely, sa anniversary ng Marawi liberation next year ay 100 percent complete na ang Marawi port na totally nasira noon (The Marawi port that was destroyed in the past will definitely be 100 percent complete by the anniversary of the Marawi liberation next year),” Samonte said.
The restoration project is part of the government’s Marawi Recovery, Rehabilitation and Peacebuilding Program (MRRP) led by Task Force Bangon Marawi -- an initiative by the Office of the President for the recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation of the city ravaged by a siege on May 23, 2017.
The project covers the construction of facilities such as a back-up area of about 8,000 square meters (sq.m.), a one-story passenger terminal building with 132 seating capacity of about 265 sq.m., a one-story fish port, and a berthing facility for fastcraft and a Roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) ramp.
Prior to the project, Samonte said the only existing facility in the port of Marawi was a causeway used by fisherfolk.
The siege ended on Oct. 17 of the same year, a five-month siege that took the lives of 87 civilians and 168 soldiers and displaced over a million civilians. (PNA)
