The Cebu Cordova Link Expressway Corporation (CCLEC) turned over on Monday morning its livelihood assistance to the 18 fisherfolk organizations in the Municipality of Cordova.
The organizations, which are all members of Cordova’s Municipal Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (MFARMC), received 18 marine engines and various materials and accessories for the building of 18 motorbancas.
Cordova Mayor Mary Therese Sitoy-Cho, who headed the turnover of the materials, thanked CCLEC for its support to the town’s fisherfolk sector.
“Dako ni nga gihatag nga katigayunan sa CCLEC nga makatag-iya sila og motorized nga pumpboat. Matag organization makagamit niini pagpasakay og mga turista para sa island hopping ug uban pa. This is an income-generating project. Hinaot ko ma-sustain ni nga proyekto para sa kalamboan sa atong mga mananagat,” she said during the Municipal Government’s flag raising ceremony.
Present also during the turnover were the officers of MFARMC and 18 fisherfolk organizations.
MFARMC President Eugenio Ventura thanked Mayor Cho and CCLEC for the aid extended to them.
He said the building of motorbancas will be finished in 7 to 10 days.
CCLEC’s livelihood assistance program “Panginabuhian Para sa Kalamboan” is in line with the company’s Social Development Framework Plan and corporate social responsibility program for its 8.5-kilometer Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) project that connects Cebu City to the Municipality of Cordova in Mactan Island.
The livelihood assistance was given based on the project proposal submitted by MFARMC and endorsed by the mayor. It is also covered by a memorandum of agreement entered by CCLEC and MFARMC.
CCLEC hopes that the livelihood assistance will help the fishermen in their recovery amidst the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
CCLEC is the owner and builder of the CCLEX project. It will maintain and operate the facility under a joint venture agreement with the local government units of Cebu City and Cordova.
Set to be a new landmark in the country, the expressway will have two lanes in each direction that will provide a safe, quick and scenic passage to an estimated 50,000 vehicles daily, easing the traffic in the existing Marcelo Fernan Bridge and the Mandaue-Mactan Bridge.
CCLEX has a design speed of 80 kilometers per hour (kph) and a navigational clearance or height of 51 meters so as to allow large vessels to pass underneath the bridge.
Not only is CCLEX seen to reduce traffic and make traveling more convenient but also spur trade activities and open greater economic opportunities for Cebu and the rest of the Visayas region.
CCLEC is a subsidiary company of MPTC, the toll road arm of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC), a publicly listed infrastructure holding company and is a member of the MVP Group of Companies.
MPTC is the largest toll road concessionaire and operator in the Philippines, which expansion goals include establishing toll operations in the Visayas, other parts of the Philippines, and in neighboring countries notably Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.
