APL Vessel, 1st to call Subic Bay Int’l Terminal

Tonight – J.V. Antiporda

The new Container Terminal-1 (NCT-1) at the Subic Bay Metropoltan Authority Freeport formally started operating on Wednesday night, receiving the first shipment of cargoes to be unloaded in this newly-constructed, $215 million container facility.

MV Eagle Excellence, a 1,200 –TEU container ship operated by the American President Lines Ltd (APL), brought the first cargo from Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

SBMA officials and executives of Subic Bay Int’l Terminal Corp. (SBITC) won the concession to operate and manage NCT-1.

SBMA officials described the first cargo unloading at NCT-1 as “a signal of bigger things to come”.

“This is the first test for our new container terminal, which is of international standards, and were very excited about it because we expect more vessels and more cargo to follow the first shipment,” SBMA officials said.

“The operation of NCT-1 is expected to be a catalyst for growth not only in Central Luzon, but even as far as the Northern regions, and also help decongest the port in Manila”, they also said.

“It will entice a lot of businesses and open up more trade opportunities not only in Subic Bay, but also in the Central Luzon growth corridor,” they also said.

The NCT-1 which comprises the first phase of Subic’s $215-million port development project, has a cargo handling capacity of 300 TEUs (20 equivalent units).