Container volume doubles at Port of Subic

Container shipments at the Port of Subic doubled as of August this year as Manila continues to experience massive port congestion.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Roberto V. Garcia, in a press briefing, told reporters that as of August this year, container volume at the Port of Subic has already reached 83,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) compared to 43,000 TEUs for the same period last year.

This indicated a 93 percent increase, Garcia pointed out.

The SBMA official said efforts by the agency and partner locators to ensure ease in cargo processing at the Port of Subic, as well as other marketing initiatives, contributed to the rise in container volume here.

“We are the only port in Luzon that has a one-stop shop, and this gives us the competitive edge,” Garcia also explained. “They come to our container port, go to our one-stop shop where offices of the SBMA, Customs, and the Landbank are there all in one place, and in just a matter of 30 minutes, their papers are already processed.”

“The one-stop shop and our marketing programs such as the two recent maritime summits and the formation of a Maritime Technical Group, are all coming into play right now,“ Garcia added.

At the rate the Port of Subic is performing, Garcia said he expect shipping volume this year to double last year’s yearend record of 77,000 TEUs.

The SBMA chair also concurred with Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who said in a recent forum here that Subic is the answer to the current traffic congestion in Manila.

“Senator Marcos hasn’t been here for some time, but he was really impressed with Subic. We are really pushing very hard to increase the volume here to help decongest Manila,” Garcia said.

Subic Bay is the only port in the western seaboard of the Philippines that still has enough capacity to handle additional container volume.

Garcia said that unlike the Port of Batangas, which has now reached its full capacity, shippers can come to Subic any time.

Seven major shipping lines are now calling on the port of Subic on a regular basis. These include Maersk, APL, NYK, and SITC, among others. (RBB/MPD-SBMA)

PHOTO:
Container ships unloads cargo at the New Container Terminal in the Subic Bay Freeport. (AMD/MPD-SBMA)