Increased
trade and cargo volume is seen as the Philippine and Japan governments mull a Manila-Subic-Osaka
route for major shipping lines.
Subic Bay
Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño
said that the Port of Osaka and the agency are exploring cooperation
possibilities in port-related business while tapping the potential of both
ports in initiating cargo traffic between the Port of Osaka and the Port of
Subic Bay.
“The
Philippines is among the world’s fastest-growing economies with an average
annual growth rate of six to seven percent per year. After diving into a slump
in the growth of its Gross Domestic Product in 2022 due to Covid, we can now
hope, dream, and expect to marvel at a new dawn, and proudly become an
indispensable and crucial part in the financial and industrial development of
international trade,” Aliño said during the Osaka Ports & Harbors Bureau
Mission to the Philippines.
Aliño added
that the two ports are now pursuing to develop a Manila-Subic-Osaka route with
major shipping lines to increase trade and cargo volume between the Philippines
and Japan, one of the country’s top trading partners.
Osaka Ports
and Harbors Bureau Director General Maruyama Junya cited that the visit to
Subic Bay Freeport is an opportunity to share information on port development,
port management, and logistics, and to promote mutual exchanges.
“Osaka Port
has developed as an international trade port with industrial and financial
development in the Kansai area. We are working actively on further development
through improving port facilities and carrying out port sales,” Junya said.
“In 2023, we
have decided to focus on the Philippines, one of the Southeast Asian countries
that has been developing remarkably against a backdrop of high economic growth
in recent years, and organized a port sales team with Kobe-Osaka International
Port Corporation and other transport companies,” he added.
He also
stated that during the Philippine Investment Forum 2023 last November, a
lecture and interview with Business and Investment Department for Manufacturing
and Maritime manager Karen Magno “triggered our great interest in the Subic Bay
Metropolitan Authority.”
Chairman
Aliño, Senior Deputy Administrator (SDA) Ronnie Yambao, SDA Renato Lee III,
Maritime Business Manager Karen Magno, and Seaport Department Officer-in-Charge
Michael Lazaro provided an extensive briefing during the visit on Thursday.
“In 2023, our
cargo volume has reached to 6.4 million metric tons with lumber, tires and
motor vehicles as the top commodities handled at the Port of Subic Bay, both
for import and export,” Yambao said.
“By expanding
our network and developing this new shipping route, we are also providing more
economic opportunities that will increase our trade and cargo volume between
our ports,” he added.
The port
administrators and related parties from Osaka include Osaka Ports and Harbors
Bureau Director Takahashi Hiroshi, Promotion Department Section Chief Shiba
Toshihiro, Kobe-Osaka International Port Corporation President Kido Takafumi,
Osaka Area Chief Facility Section Tsuji Genta, and Osaka Port Corporation
Assistant Manager Yamada Akiko.
Also part of
the delegation are port and harbor transportation business operators such as:
Sumitomo Warehouse Co. Marine Osaka Branch Manager Machida Ryota; Tatsumi
Shokai Co., Ltd. General Manager Teramoto Teruya, Chief Asai Kei; Nissin
Corporation Hanshin Marine Department Deputy General Manager Imoto Masaya, and
Deputy General Manager Mori Makata; Konoike Transport Co., Ltd. General Manager
Kanda Shigeru; Sankyu Inc. Osaka Branch General Manager Tamura Kei; Shosen Koun
Co., Ltd. Group Leader Okumura Kazunari; Nippon Express Co., Ltd. Osaka International
Transport Branch Nanko International Office General Manager Hiraoka Motonobu;
and Mitsubishi Logistics Corporation Osaka Branch Deputy General Manager
Shinichiro Nakajima. (MPD-SBMA)
![From above left (counter-clockwise): [1] Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño (left) shares a light moment with Takahashi Hiroshi, Planning & Construction Division Director and head of delegation of the Japanese government’s Osaka Ports and Harbor Bureau during their visit to Subic Bay Freeport on Thursday, February 8, 2024; [2] SBMA Chairman Aliño presents a souvenir token to Mr. Hiroshi; [3] SBMA Chairman and Administrator Aliño (seated, fourth from left) joins other SBMA officials for a photo opportunity with Takahashi Hiroshi (seated, right of Chairman Aliño), and other delegates from the Japanese government’s Osaka Ports and Harbor Bureau.](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpGXPQ___2MOOTLUkWS6xXx_AmiFVl0ZV13-dkMqNJJ5_b6fqe0-3zNIWzOA4gfzYmhQdgOVph1sgj45LWQlTsxSRbHEyN0PTfgFj8RVOWyGBjkumT3FIZuKO0xEZgbkNEz9Yd4IJVV22PclRwX8L_JU744MqiLXXF_ucZcZh7hN3987i7uZxLf0WLLm0/s3794/osaka.png "From above left (counter-clockwise): [1] Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño (left) shares a light moment with Takahashi Hiroshi, Planning & Construction Division Director and head of delegation of the Japanese government’s Osaka Ports and Harbor Bureau during their visit to Subic Bay Freeport on Thursday, February 8, 2024; [2] SBMA Chairman Aliño presents a souvenir token to Mr. Hiroshi; [3] SBMA Chairman and Administrator Aliño (seated, fourth from left) joins other SBMA officials for a photo opportunity with Takahashi Hiroshi (seated, right of Chairman Aliño), and other delegates from the Japanese government’s Osaka Ports and Harbor Bureau.")
