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Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority hopes to bid out this year or early next the shore power connection facility for ships calling at Subic port
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The goal is to have the facility operational before 2027 or 2028
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The first phase of the project covering Subic port’s New Container Terminals has a budget of P100 million
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) hopes to bid out this year or early next the shore power connection facility for ships calling at Subic port.
“We’re very excited for the shore power connection facility because it will be the first of its kind in the country, and we are thankful to the national government for appropriating P100 million for this project,” SBMA senior deputy administrator for operations Ronnie Yambao told PortCalls at the sidelines of the recent Subic-Clark Business Conference organized by the Italian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines.
Yambao said the goal is to have the facility operational before 2027 or 2028.
The operator for the facility is still being reviewed, he added.
The project’s first phase covering Subic port’s New Container Terminals has a P100-million budget. The second phase will cover the Naval Supply Depot and Ship Repair Facility and requires P150 million.
Yambao earlier said the project is in line with SBMA’s program to make Subic Bay Freeport Zone the first carbon neutral economic zone in the country and in compliance with the International Maritime Organization’s International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ship (MARPOL) Annex VI.
MARPOL Annex VI, which the Philippines acceded to in 2018, is intended to prevent pollution of the air by seagoing ships. The shore power connection project also complies with the United States’ Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, which implements MARPOL Annex VI on US-flagged ships wherever located and to non-US flagged ships operating in US waters.
SBMA chairman and administrator Eduardo Jose Aliño earlier said ships can use the shore power connection—which will use renewable energy—instead of continuously running on bunker fuel while at berth. The project is seen to cut air pollution from ships at berth by 95%.
Aside from the shore power connection, SBMA has a number of port expansion projects with a total budget of $878.7 million, including a new container terminal with a capacity of 300,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), estimated to cost $359 million; a multipurpose terminal at Redondo Peninsula, valued at $162 million; a multipurpose terminal in Lower Mau, supporting bulk and break-bulk industries, costing $182 million; and a dedicated cruise terminal to boost tourism, with an investment of P10.2 billion.
Yambao said SBMA is enhancing its logistics capabilities to support multimodal transport.
Various automation initiatives to streamline cargo movement and enhance efficiency are also being implemented, including the Automated System for Customs Data, Electronic Transit Admission Permit System, and Automated Export Documentation System. SBMA is also looking to equip Subic port with 5G connection as part of digitization efforts at the port.
