[Road Network]
The 387-kilometer Maharlika Highway links Naga to the rest of Bicol and the country.  Businessmen and visitors complain about the deterioration of this highway.  Rehabilitation efforts are, however, nearly complete.  The portion of Maharlika Highway going from Naga to Metro Manila has been completely rehabilitated. Work on the portion of the highway leading to the Bicol provinces of Albay and Sorsogon is expected to be completed by 2002. 

The construction of the Quirino Highway in 1999 has reduced travel time from Manila by 3 to 5 hours.  This 60.5-kilometer long highway directly links the Camarines Sur and Quezon provinces; and bypasses the province of Camarines Norte.

Within Naga, a major road-concreting effort has been on-going.  The city is currently  focusing on building circumferential and diversion roads which will ease traffic within the business district and provide access to  priority development areas.

PROPOSED CIRCUMFERENTIAL & DIVERSION ROADS

[Land Transport]

12 bus companies provide daily trips to and from Manila.  Routes to the Visayas and Mindanao are served by 2 bus lines.  Local bus companies ply the inter-provincial routes (to Albay, Sorsogon and Camarines Norte).  Passengers may choose between air-conditioned and economy coaches. Travel to the other towns of Camarines Sur is by jeepney or bus. 12-passenger air-conditioned vans also started plying the inter-provincial and inter-municipality routes in 2002.

Visitors may avail of the services of car-hire companies for travel within the city, Camarines Sur and the rest of Bicol.

Transportation within the city is provided by local jeepneys and tricycles which ply the main streets.  These are color-coded by route.  Three-wheeled pedicabs serve transport needs within inner streets and residential subdivisions.

Mode of Urban Travel, Traffic Profile & Travel Time

A 1998 ABD study shows that the major modes of commuter travel are public utility jeepneys, motorcycles and trimobiles.  Jeepneys account for 16.76% of vehicular flow and 39.02% of passenger capacity.   Motorcycles and tricycles account for 41.68% and 18.71% of vehicular flow and passenger capacity, respectively.    

CITY TRAFFIC PROFILE 

Source:  Cities Databook Project, Asian Development Bank, 1998

The average travel time from point to point within Naga is 25 minutes.

Terminals

Commuter travel is facilitated by the presence of a central bus terminal and several integrated jeepney terminals.  All, except one, are located within the Central Business District-II (CBD-II) which is designated as the city’s transport exchange.

BUS AND JEEPNEY TERMINALS

[Air Transport]

2 airline companies— Philippine Airlines and Asian Spirit—regularly fly to Manila and Cebu using the Naga Airport which is located about 12 kilometers from the city proper.  From the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila and the Mactan International Airport in Cebu, businessmen and visitors can connect to other Philippine or international destinations.  Aboitiz Air offers daily cargo flights to Manila.

AIR TRANSPORTATION SCHEDULES

[Rail Transport]

By train, the city is 10 to 12 hours away from Manila via the partially-revitalized Mainline South of the Philippine National Railways (PNR). Trips depart from the Naga station 2 times daily.  PNR also offers cargo services.

[Water Transport ]

Naga is not a port city.  However, it has sea access through the ports of Pasacao, Camaligan and Nato. 

Pasacao is an international port of entry. It is 26 kilometers away from the city. The port faces the South China Sea. It has a reinforced concrete wharf on concrete pile and fill and handles inter-island general cargo and passenger vessels. Pasacao port has a 44m x 10m pier with a control depth of 4m, and a 68m rock causeway.  Vessels carrying cement, coconut oil, copra meal, sugar, bottled beverages and petroleum products regularly use this port.

The Camaligan Fishing Port is found approximately a kilometer away from the city proper. It is the port of call of local trawlers and fishing vessels coming from the open seas. From San Miguel Bay, they pass through the Bicol River and bring their catch directly to the Naga City Public Market.   The fishing port complex also offers cold storage facilities.

Pasacao and Camaligan are part of Metro Naga. Nato Port is found in Camarines Sur's 3rd Congressional District (Partido area), approximately 56 kilometers away from the city. It faces the Pacific Ocean. 

Aside from land transport, Naga also has access to neighboring riverine towns like Minalabac, Gainza, Pamplona and Libmanan through the Bicol and Naga Rivers.  These are served by motorized bancas utilizing the small wharf right behind the Naga City Public Market.

[Warehousing and Cargo]

Naga has numerous facilities for warehousing and cargo, being the Bicol Region's center for trade and commerce.  Warehouses are mostly located along Roxas Ave. (Naga Diversion Rd.) in CBD-II and the Concepcion Growth Corridor. These are augmented by warehousing facilities in the neighboring towns of Pili and Milaor.

There are 12  courier and cargo companies which can support the transport needs of various traders in Naga and its neighboring towns.

COURIER & CARGO SERVICE PROVIDERS

[Power]
Electricity is distributed by the Camarines Sur II Electric Cooperative (CASURECO II), one of the 4 electric cooperatives engaged in power retail in Camarines Sur.  The cooperative also distributes power to 9 other towns, namely, Canaman, Magarao, Bombon, Calabanga, Tinambac, Siruma, Milaor, Minalabac and Pili.  The power rates are the lowest in the Bicol region.

Power is sourced mainly from the National Power Corporation’s (NAPOCOR) Luzon Grid.  CASURECO II also sources power from the Bicol Mini-Hydro Power Plant, a privately-owned power plant at the slopes of Mt. Isarog.  Electricity generated by the plant is used to supplement the requirements of Barangays Pacol, Carolina and Panicuason.

As of 2000, 23,689 or 89.4% households in Naga had electricity. 

Residential users and commercial establishments account for 45% and 34% of power consumption, respectively.  The remaining 21% is for electricity for industrial, irrigation, public buildings and other uses.

[Water]
The waterworks system run by the Metropolitan Naga Water District (MNWD) supplies much of the needs of Naga and the 3 neighboring towns of Canaman, Camaligan, and Magarao.  MNWD serves 20,090 Naga households in all the barangays except Cararayan, Carolina, Panicuason and San Isidro. The number of new connections increases, on the average, by 86 per month (year 2000).

The main sources of water are 2 springs located in the capital town of Pili-- the Anayan and Rumangrap springs-- and 13 deep well pumping stations located in Naga and the town of Canaman.

With an average daily production, in 2000, of approximately 32,527 cubic meters per day, MNWD has excess capacity. 

MNWD SOURCES OF WATER AND CAPACITY

Source:  MNWD 2000

Despite excess capacity, MNWD has 2 on-going source development projects, namely, Cararayan well and Carolina I. These are expected to meet the needs of new investors and residents in the East Highland Zone.

[Telephone and Mobile Phone Services]
The city’s telephone to household density, in 1998, was 1:2.  This is ahead of the national target of 1:3. 

 
Telephone services are provided by Bayan Telecommunications, Inc. (BAYANTEL) and Digital Telecommunications, Inc. (DIGITEL).  Both use fiber-optic backbones. DIGITEL manages and operates the Luzon-wide National Telephone Program (NTP) system built by the national government in 1987. 

The telephone companies also operate in the other towns of Camarines Sur.  BAYANTEL and DIGITEL provide services in 36  and 9 of the 37 towns, respectively.  Calls from Naga to these towns are considered local calls. Calls made from any BAYANTEL phone to other subscribers of the company in the region are also treated as local calls.

TELEPHONE SERVICE PROVIDERS

The number of mobile phone subscribers has outstripped that for fixed lines. The mobile phone operators are SMART and GLOBE TELECOMS.

TELEPHONE SERVICE PROFILE

Source:  Cities Databook Project, Asian Development Bank, 1998

[Internet Services]

As of 1999, there were 19.7 Internet connections per 1,000 population.  The annual growth rate in connections is 91.9%. 

Services are provided by eight (9) Internet Service Providers (ISPs).  Among the ISPs are the 2 fixed telephone line companies and a telephone/telegraph provider.   ISPs use either leased lines to Manila or direct satellite connections to the US.

DIGITEL and Philippine Telephone and Telegraph (PT&T) offe broadband services (aDSL and sDSL connections). At least 28 registered cybercafes also operate within the city. 

The city government was one the first local government units (LGUs) in the country to be hooked online. Likewise, the City Library is one of the first LGU-owned libraries to provide Internet services to its clients.

LIST OF INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS

[Telegraph Services]
Philippine Telegraph & Telephone Company (PT&T), RCPI-Bayantel  and the Bureau of Telecommunications (BUTEL) provide telegraph services.  PT&T and RCPI are private firms.  BUTEL is government-owned.

All 3 also provide long-distance telephone services. BUTEL particularly operates a public calling office (PCO) established under the Department of Transportation and Communication’s (DOTC)  Municipal Telephone Program. The PCO-- which is allotted a very small aperture terminal (VSAT) enabling it to provide domestic and international direct dialing (DDD/IDD), and facsimile services to users-- is a hotline for use during emergencies and natural calamities.

[Postal and Courier Services] 
The Philippine Postal Corporation (PhilPost) handles mailing services.   Documents, parcels and small cargo may be sent to any destination in the country or abroad through the services of 9  companies that provide 24-hour delivery services.

[Print and Broadcast Media]
Because of the city’s character as the region’s center of commerce, the number of print and broadcast media firms in Naga has mushroomed in a decade’s span. As of November, 2000, there were 19 local newspapers, 19 radio stations (7 AM and 12 FM), 6 television stations and 3 cable TV companies.

TV STATIONS AND CABLE COMPANIES