SBITC completes freight station

The Subic Bay International Terminal Corp. (SBITC) has completed construction of its newest facility, the On Dock Container Freight Station (CFS).

The CFS is the first and only facility catering to the Central Luzon market with a storage space of up to 1,860 square meters.

The CFS is also capable of stripping or stuffing eight containers simultaneously.

With the completion of the facility, more ships are expected to be attracted to call at Subic Bay Freeport.

“The advocacy is to develop the Subic port as a major port, not just an alternative port (to Manila),” said Malou Balano, executive director of Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (PHILEXPORT)-Region 3.

“We see (the use of Subic port) not just a temporary solution but a permanent one to support cost reduction and trade facilitation efforts of the PHILEXPORT R3,” Balano added.

She said Region 3 has a number of advantages as a maritime base. The region has excellent infrastructure such as the North Luzon Expressway and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, modern roadways that facilitate access to the port.

Stevedoring and arrastre rates in the region “are even lower compared to the Manila ports,” providing the manufacturing and exporting sectors in North Luzon “relief from increased hauling and congestion related charges,” she said.

Region 3, or Central Luzon, is composed of Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales.

SBITC has tapped ECU Worldwide (through ECU-Line Philippines, Inc.), one of the country’s top consolidators, to cater to exporters and importers’ less-than-container load (LCL) requirements. ECU Worldwide’s array of value-added services and outsourcing solutions makes it competent in handling and transporting complex cargo anywhere in the world.

Construction of the CFS began in May this year.

The facility will have an initial storage space of 840 square meters, expandable up to 1,860 square meters. It will feature state-of-the-art equipment and a 24-hour CCTV system. The freight station will be capable of stripping or stuffing eight containers simultaneously.

With an annual capacity of 600,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), the Port of Subic continues to handle growing volumes. It surpassed the 100,00th mark in TEUs lifted in November 2015, ending the year with 123,558 TEUs processed, up from just 77,618 TEUs in 2014. It reportedly overshot its 2014 port revenue of P908.6 million by 25 percent in 2015, collecting P1.16-billion last year.

SBITC is a subsidiary of International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), which is engaged in port operation, management, and development. ICTSI’s portfolio of terminals and projects spans developed and emerging market economies in the Asia Pacific, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. (Malaya Business Insight)

PHOTO:
Representatives from both the SBITC and ECU Worldwide Phis. Inc. conducted the inspection of SBITC’s newest facility. In photo are (from left) Henry Dungca, SBITC engineering manager; Mayette Manalo, ECU Worldwide sales coordinator; Jayleede Juliu, ECU Worldwide sales and operations; Jomel Rosete, broker; Chay Angeles, broker; Ernie Balois, assistant general manager - operations and commercial; Santi Fuentes, SBITC terminal manager; Mitch Madriaga, SBITC safety superintent; and Donat Teodoro, SBITC assistant operations manager.

http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/business/sbitc-completes-freight-station