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Subic Bay International Terminal Corp. is installing more reefer racks and adding more quay cranes at Subic port in the fourth quarter 2026
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Automation of gates and the opening of the one-stop shop for port and government services are scheduled for the first quarter of 2027
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Four post-Panamax quay cranes will be deployed in 2032
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ICTSI vice president for Philippine portfolio Phillip Marsham said these are part of the company’s investment in Subic port’s future and to maintain its healthy yard utilization, which is currently at 60%
Subic Bay International Terminal Corp. (SBITC) is installing more reefer racks and adding more quay cranes at Subic port this year.
The additional reefer plugs and racks and deployment of four new near-zero emission (NZE) rubber-tired gantry cranes at New Container Terminals (NCT) 1 and 2 in Subic port are scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026, according to the presentation of Phillip Marsham, vice president for Philippine portfolio of International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), parent company of SBITC, at the recent 4th Central Luzon Transport & Trade Conference and Exhibit 2026.
Aside from these, automation of gates and the opening of the one-stop shop (OSS) for port and government services are scheduled for the first quarter of 2027. For 2032, SBITC is deploying four post-Panamax quay cranes.
These are part of ICTSI’s investment in Subic port’s future and to maintain its healthy yard utilization, which is currently at 60%, Marsham said.
The new NZE RTGs support ICTSI’s long-term commitment to more energy efficient and eco-friendly terminal operations. The automated gates system will feature cameras and the latest optical character recognition to automatically detect container number, truck plate number, and check for damages in the container, all in the interest of improving terminal safety and efficiencies.
READ: SBITC future proofs Subic port with more equipment, technologies
SBITC is also reviving its OSS, which will house all port operations and regulatory agencies including Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Bureau of Customs, Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industry, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, and Philippine Economic Zone Authority into a single zone so that customers will no longer need to physically go to different regulatory offices to clear their cargo.
An OSS was opened in Subic port as early as 2015 but closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The four newer generation post-Panamax quay cranes, meanwhile, will allow the port to serve post-Panamax vessels, which are up to 8,500 twenty-foot equivalent units in size.
Subic port is currently served by 11 shipping lines, directly connecting the maritime hub to various Asian countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, Brunei, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
Last year, SBMA extended by 25 years or until 2058 the contracts of SBITC and ICTSI Subic Inc. (ISI) for NCTs 1 and 2.
ICTSI said Subic Bay International Terminals is set to invest more than $130 million into its operations as part of its Investment and Development Plan.
It will cover civil infrastructure and additional equipment to enhance terminal capabilities and operational efficiency, and increase NCTs 1 and 2’s combined annual capacity from 600,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEUs) to 1 million TEUs.— Roumina Pablo
