Subic port sees 5% rise in revenues

Riza T. Olchondra - Philippine Daily Inquirer

Port of Subic revenues are expected to grow five percent this year with a 30-percent rise in ship calls, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), which oversees the Subic Bay Freeport, northwest of Manila, said in a statement Tuesday.

Port revenues are projected at P228.2 million, from P218.1 million in 2007, it said, adding that it expected 2,300 ships to call at the port, compared with 1,778 last year.

Containerized cargo is expected to reach 43,490 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) from 36,451 TEUs in 2007, the authority said.

Non-containerized cargo is projected at 2.66 million metric tons, from 1.89 million in 2007.
SBMA senior deputy administrator for operations, Ferdinand Hernandez said operation of a recently completed New Container Terminal (NCT) and of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) would help bring traffic to the Subic port.

He said the NCT would give the port a cargo-handling capacity of 600,000 TEUs and the SCTEx would facilitate movement of goods between Subic and the Clark Freeport, north of Manila, and other areas in the Central Luzon region.