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The Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority and Freeport is seeking parties to pre-qualify and bid for the design, financing, construction, operation, and maintenance of the P14.823-billion San Ramon Newport Project, the first freeport in Mindanao
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The project covers a land area of 21.55 hectares in Brgy. Talisayan, Zamboanga City
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The SNRP involves development of a greenfield port and the design and construction of inland berth facilities, quays, breakwaters, roll-on, roll-off ramps, excavation of harbor basin, as well as the establishment of cargo-handling facilities such as container yards, bulk terminals, warehouses, passenger terminals and support facilities, such as ship-to-shore cranes, cargo handling equipment, and terminal operating systems, among others
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Construction as well as operation and maintenance of the port will be under a 35-year concession period
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The project is under the Build-Operate-Transfer scheme
The Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority and Freeport (ZCSEZA) is seeking parties to pre-qualify and bid for the design, financing, construction, operation, and maintenance of the San Ramon Newport Project (SRNP). The P14.823-billion project will be the first freeport in Mindanao, envisioned to be the main trade, commerce, and industrial center of the Zamboanga Peninsula (Region IX).
With a land area of 21.55 hectares in Brgy. Talisayan, Zamboanga City, the SRNP involves the development of a greenfield port and the design and construction of inland berth facilities, quays, breakwaters, roll-on, roll-off ramps, excavation of harbor basin, as well as the establishment of cargo-handling facilities such as container yards, bulk terminals, warehouses, passenger terminals and support facilities, such as ship-to-shore cranes, cargo handling equipment, and terminal operating systems.
It will be under the Build-Operate-Transfer scheme, a public-private partnership model, with a 35-year concession period, inclusive of the estimated four-year construction period.
The invitation to pre-qualify and bid was published on the PPP Center website on July 21.
According to the project information memorandum, the SNRP offers the following advantages:
- Proximity of fish canning factories (within a 5-kilometer radius) and shipbuilding and ship repair industries (in the vicinity);
- Less Zamboanga City traffic congestion as trucks loaded with finished products from canning factories and other industries in the vicinity no longer have to pass through Zamboanga City proper;
- Direct connection to a national road (Zamboanga West Coastal Road) to be complemented by the Bypass Road Project that will link the east and west coasts of Zamboanga City; and
- Significant savings on trucking cost and time because of the expected diversion of container traffic from existing ports in Mindanao.
The SRNP will also “address capacity issues” at the Zamboanga base port (ZBP) and attract new locators” to the Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone. While ZBP, SRNP’s main competitor, is already served by a number of domestic and international shipping lines, it suffers from operational and facility constraints restricting productivity, the project information memo noted.
It added: SRNP “is expected to lower transport costs for all international and domestic cargo to Region IX.”
The memo said the project has “significant upside traffic growth” considering:
• Substantial Region IX resources remain undeveloped due to the lack of access to domestic and international markets especially ASEAN; and
• The strategic location along sea lanes of Southwestern Philippines with proximity to ASEAN, China, and South Asia.
Bidding process
The SRNP will be bidded out under a two-stage process: in the first stage bidders will be prequalified based on minimum legal, technical, and financial requirements; and in the second stage the winning bidder will be determined based on the technical and financial bids.
The bidding process for the first and second stages will take approximately eight months from the issuance of the invitation to bid (July 21, 2025), with submission of pre-qualification documents set on September 21.
The project is expected to be awarded in February 2026.
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