Subic Free Port Zone will become a major port in 10 years, the top official of International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) said.
“Subic we are pushing hard we are building up the market, it takes a long time within the next 10 years. I think Subic will become a major port,” said Enrique Razon, chairman and president of ICTSI, during the company’s annual stockholders meeting on Thursday.
The Port of Subic in Zambales is located in the vicinity of Subic Bay, one of the Philippines’ finest harbors and most strategic base.
Subic Port is the country’s first free port and continues to be one of the country’s major economic engines with more than 700 investment projects, including the fourth largest shipbuilding facility in the world.
Earlier reports said that at present, Subic is upgrading its port facilities through the Subic Bay Port Development Project, and forging ties with the Clark Special Economic Zone in Angeles Pampanga to form the Subic-Clark Corridor via the 45-kilometer segment of Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway. With those developments, Subic and Clark are being positioned to become one of the most competitive international service and logistics centers in Southeast Asia.
Financial results
During the ICTSI annual stockholders meeting, it was reported that the company’s consolidated cash operating expenses in 2012 grew 10 percent to $319 million, from $289.3 million in 2011.
The increase was mainly driven by the full-period consolidation of the expenses of terminals in the United States and Croatia, and the inclusion of new terminals in Indonesia and Pakistan.
Consolidated financing charges and other expenses slid 25 percent to $35 million, from $46.4 million. The company said that the decrease was due to the higher capitalized borrowing cost as the company expanded existing terminals, and developed new projects in Mexico and Argentina.
In 2012, ICTSI’s capital expenditure was about $465.6 million, against a full-year capital expenditure of $550 million.
“Our capex program is $500 million this year then it will severely drop after that next year, so we are covered this year already,” Razon said.
The group’s capital expenditure budget for 2013 is approximately $500 million, mainly allocated for the completion of projects in Argentina and Mexico, and the ramp-up of construction in Colombia and Philippines.
ICTSI also said that it will vie for seaport developments in Cambodia and Greece.
“We are just looking, waiting, same parts, Latin America, Africa, Middle East and Asia of course,” Razon said.
“Mynamar, we are watching it but no plans to expand there. Cambodia is the most promising, but the government has not decided to privatize, one thing or another they have not made up their mind. Its beyond our control, the time table there,” Razon said. ( Rosalie C. Periabras, Manila Times)
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