Hanjin allowed to continue ship building operations
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines - Local executives of the two towns hosting a $2-billion shipyard project of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Corp. in Misamis Oriental have agreed to withdraw halt orders on the Korean firm’s operations.
A statement sent to BusinessWorld on Wednesday by the regional office of the Interior and Local Government department said Mayors Paulino Y. Emano of Tagoloan and Juliette T. Uy of Villanueva had lifted the stoppage order on the operation of Hanjin inside the Philippine Veterans Investment Development Corp. (Phividec) industrial estate.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, during her visit to this city on Wednesday, spoke with the two mayors and ordered Misamis Oriental Governor Oscar S. Moreno to head task force Hanjin Mindanao, which should find ways to resolve the issue.
President Arroyo listens as officials of South Korea-based Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Corporation explains to her points about the Koreans’ $1-billion investment during her visit to the Hanjin shipbuilding construction site at the Subic Bay Freeport in this file photo dated Sept. 27, 2006. — BW File Photo
Undersecretary Renato L. Ebarle of the Presidential Management Staff, Interior and Local Government Regional Director Quirino M. Libunao and Phividec Administrator Ninfa A. Albania had been speaking with the mayors for days to stop their opposition to the Hanjin project.
Hanjin was reportedly thinking of pulling out its project — a major investment accomplishment of the Arroyo administration — due to problems with the host communities.
Since March, residents of the two towns have been complaining that the company and its contractors had failed to make some good promises on relocation, as well as on the hiring of locals.
During a public consultation in late March, Eduardo Rubic, Hanjin Heavy Industries Corp. project coordinator, assured the towns of Villanueva and Tagoloan that these would be prioritized for hiring.
But he also said not all applicants who are residents of the two towns would all be accepted by the company.
"Applicants will have to be chosen properly and they will pass through standard procedures. If the employer is dissatisfied with the skills and qualifications of the applicants, then they won’t be accepted," Mr. Rubic told participants during a dialogue with community leaders.
The regional office of the Interior and Local Government department said both mayors had agreed to allow Hanjin to continue operating provided it complies with agreements it had agreed to, including the relocation of affected families and the employment of local workers.
Mario B. Sumalinog, team leader of MJ Consulting Services, a firm subcontracted by Hanjin, said the shipyard has assembly and repair bays to cater to large ships of up to 120,000 tons and other marine vessels, a power station, fabrication facilities, warehouse and structures for housing and offices.
The complex will be built in five years and, once completed, will have the capacity to build 12 large ocean-going ships every year under a state-of-the-art automated system.
The total area to be used by the Korean firm is estimated to be 500 hectares.
Aside from its shipyard site, a training center and a staff house for Korean nationals will also be put up, which are estimated to require at least 16 more hectares. - with a report from Geefe P. Alba, BusinessWorld
A statement sent to BusinessWorld on Wednesday by the regional office of the Interior and Local Government department said Mayors Paulino Y. Emano of Tagoloan and Juliette T. Uy of Villanueva had lifted the stoppage order on the operation of Hanjin inside the Philippine Veterans Investment Development Corp. (Phividec) industrial estate.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, during her visit to this city on Wednesday, spoke with the two mayors and ordered Misamis Oriental Governor Oscar S. Moreno to head task force Hanjin Mindanao, which should find ways to resolve the issue.
President Arroyo listens as officials of South Korea-based Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Corporation explains to her points about the Koreans’ $1-billion investment during her visit to the Hanjin shipbuilding construction site at the Subic Bay Freeport in this file photo dated Sept. 27, 2006. — BW File Photo
Undersecretary Renato L. Ebarle of the Presidential Management Staff, Interior and Local Government Regional Director Quirino M. Libunao and Phividec Administrator Ninfa A. Albania had been speaking with the mayors for days to stop their opposition to the Hanjin project.
Hanjin was reportedly thinking of pulling out its project — a major investment accomplishment of the Arroyo administration — due to problems with the host communities.
Since March, residents of the two towns have been complaining that the company and its contractors had failed to make some good promises on relocation, as well as on the hiring of locals.
During a public consultation in late March, Eduardo Rubic, Hanjin Heavy Industries Corp. project coordinator, assured the towns of Villanueva and Tagoloan that these would be prioritized for hiring.
But he also said not all applicants who are residents of the two towns would all be accepted by the company.
"Applicants will have to be chosen properly and they will pass through standard procedures. If the employer is dissatisfied with the skills and qualifications of the applicants, then they won’t be accepted," Mr. Rubic told participants during a dialogue with community leaders.
The regional office of the Interior and Local Government department said both mayors had agreed to allow Hanjin to continue operating provided it complies with agreements it had agreed to, including the relocation of affected families and the employment of local workers.
Mario B. Sumalinog, team leader of MJ Consulting Services, a firm subcontracted by Hanjin, said the shipyard has assembly and repair bays to cater to large ships of up to 120,000 tons and other marine vessels, a power station, fabrication facilities, warehouse and structures for housing and offices.
The complex will be built in five years and, once completed, will have the capacity to build 12 large ocean-going ships every year under a state-of-the-art automated system.
The total area to be used by the Korean firm is estimated to be 500 hectares.
Aside from its shipyard site, a training center and a staff house for Korean nationals will also be put up, which are estimated to require at least 16 more hectares. - with a report from Geefe P. Alba, BusinessWorld
Labels: cagayan de oro, hanjin, misamis oriental, shipbuilding
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