Manila-Subic-Osaka shipping route eyed

During the Philippine Investment Forum 2023 last November, a lecture and interview with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Cooperation ‘triggered our great interest in the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority’

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The Philippines and Japan are embarking on an agreement for a Manila-Subic-Osaka route with major shipping lines to increase trade and cargo volume between the two countries.

According to Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority chairperson and administrator Eduardo Aliño, the Port of Osaka and the agency is exploring cooperation possibilities in port related business and tap the potential of both ports in developing cargo traffic between the Port of Osaka and the Port of Subic Bay.

During the Japanese government’s Osaka Ports and Harbors Bureau Mission to the Philippines and Subic Bay here last Thursday, Aliño said that the two ports are pursuing to develop a Manila-SubicOsaka route with major shipping lines to increase trade and cargo volume between the Philippines and Japan, one of the country’s top trading partners.

Osaka Ports and Harbors Bureau director general Maruyama Junya said that the visit to Subic Bay Freeport is an opportunity to share information on port development, port management and logistics and to promote mutual exchanges.

“Osaka Port has developed as an international trade port with industrial and financial development in the Kansai area. We are working actively on further development through improving port facilities and carrying out port sales,” Junya said.

“In 2023, we have decided to focus on the Philippines, one of the Southeast Asian countries that has been developing remarkably against a backdrop of high economic growth in recent years and organized a port sales team with Kobe-Osaka International Port Corporation and other transport companies,” he added.

Junya also revealed that during the Philippine Investment Forum 2023 last November, a lecture and interview with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Cooperation “triggered our great interest in the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.”

Aliño, senior deputy administrator Ronnie Yambao, SDA Renato Lee III, Maritime Business Manager Karen Magno and Seaport Department Manager Michael Lazaro provided information to the guests from Osaka during the visit.

PHOTOGRAPH BY KING RODRIGUEZ FOR THE DAILY TRIBUNE THE Pasig River is one of the major thoroughfares for heavy equipment and materials transportation as it provides ample space for huge barges carrying cargoes on a clear Sunday morning.