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The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority is eyeing various port projects worth a total of $878.7 million in anticipation of future demand at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone
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The proposed projects include the New Container Terminal 3 with an estimated cost of $359 million
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The terminal is envisioned to have a capacity of 300,000 twenty-foot equivalent units, in addition to 600,000 TEUs already available at NCTs 1 and 2
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Also eyed is a $162-million multipurpose terminal at the Redondo Peninsula
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In addition, SBMA is pitching a multipurpose terminal in Lower Mau worth $182 million that will support bulk and break-bulk industries
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Another proposal is a dedicated cruise terminal with an estimated cost of P10.2 billion
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Still under study by SBMA management, the projects will be submitted to the Office of the President as part of the administration’s infrastructure priority projects
The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) is eyeing various port projects worth a total of US$878.7 million in anticipation of future demand at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.
SBMA chairman and administrator Eduardo Jose Aliño, in a presentation during the recent Central Luzon Transport & Trade Conference 2024, said the projects include expansion of the Subic container terminal, a new multipurpose terminal in the Redondo Peninsula, a new multipurpose terminal at Lower Mau, and a new cruise terminal.
The proposed expansion of Subic’s container terminal has an estimated cost of $359 million, Aliño said at the conference and exhibit co-organized by PortCalls and the Philippine Multimodal Transport and Logistics Association.
Eyed is a New Container Terminal 3 with a total area of 28.7 hectares, total quay length of 410 meters, and depth of 16 meters.
The project will be open to possible public-private partnership.
NCTs 1 and 2 are currently operated by International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) unit Subic Bay International Terminal Corp.
ICTSI commercial director for the Philippine cluster Mikkel Puyat, also one of the speakers at the conference, later told PortCalls: “Right now there’s nothing concrete (on NCT 3). For us, we’re open to whatever plans the government has.”
SBMA deputy administrator for operations Ronnie Yambao, in an interview with PortCalls, said NCT 3 will have a capacity of 300,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), in addition to NCT 1 and 2’s current capacity of 600,000 TEUs.
Meanwhile, the proposed multipurpose terminal at the Redondo Peninsula will provide access and support to the area, according to Aliño. The $162-million project will have a total area of 30 hectares, a quay length of 600 meters, and depth of 12 meters. It involves construction of warehouses, an administration building, truck parking and weighing scale, offices, and facilities for workers.
With an estimated cost of $182 million, the proposed multipurpose terminal in Lower Mau will support bulk and break-bulk industries inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. The terminal will occupy 17.2 hectares and feature a quay 570 meters long and 14 meters deep. Three warehouses will be constructed as well as a backup area of 6.5 hectares.
The proposed dedicated cruise terminal in the central business district area, meanwhile, will have two phases. The first phase estimated to cost P1.2 billion ($20.7 million; exchange rate used: P57.959 to US$1)) involves construction of a cruise ship jetty with the first berth measuring 380 meters in length and the second 350 meters with a depth of 12 meters. The second phase includes the reclamation for the cruise passenger terminal and cruise leisure and commercial area at an estimated cost of P9 billion ($155 million).
Aliño said the cruise ship terminal will propel Subic as a top cruise ship destination not only in country but in the world.
Still under study by SBMA management, the projects will be submitted to the Office of the President to be considered as part of the administration’s infrastructure priority projects, according to Yambao.
Port development is one of the activities SBMA will actively pursue in the next few years. These activities also include airport upgrade, airfreight and port logistics, renewable energy, and high technology manufacturing.
Subic Bay Freeport Zone is home to 1,800 locators and 158,169 workers, with a total of $11.54 billion worth of investments from 1992 to 2023 and produced exports worth $1.97 billion in 2023. – Roumina Pablo
