Subic container port utilization pushed

Senior administration congressmen urged government yesterday to prioritize the modernization project of the Subic Container Port in a bid to decongest Metro Manila and ease the traffic jams in the capital which have been resulting in productivity losses of at least P2.4 million a day.

Citing a study conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Reps. Rodolfo Albano III (NP, Isabela); Ben Evardone (LP, Eastern Samar) and Gus Tambunting (UNA, Paranaque City) stressed that Subic, given its strategic assets, is equipped to acquire a higher share of the country’s growing container cargo volume.

Albano, a member of the powerful Commission on Appointments, said goods and commodities intended for Central and Northern Luzon no longer need to pass through Metro Manila if Subic’s operations are optimized.

“It is indeed a great idea. It is about time we discuss the Subic Port modernization project,” he said.

Albano said the former US military base is also strategically located as it would ensure a shorter point of entry for cargoes arriving from or going to Singapore.

Evardone, former vice chairman of the House Committee on Transportation, said prioritizing the Subic port modernization project in the government’s menu of solutions to the traffic woes in Metro Manila will also spur economic growth across Central and North Luzon.

“I fully support such proposal. It will greatly help decongest Manila,” he said.

For his part, Tambunting said: “Anything that will lessen the movement of people and vehicles in Metro Manila is a welcome development.”

The Subic Container Port is a significant component of the Subic-Clark Alliance for Development (SCAD) strategy, which includes the construction of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTex), and the Clark International Airport to form a global logistics hub and international gateway for Central Luzon.

However, the port, which can easily absorb northbound cargoes, has remained underutilized.

Albano said a JICA study showed that there is a capacity shortage of 14 million 20-foot equivalent units or TEUs (the capacity unit of container ships) for the Pacific Region, with Singapore already reaching its limit and Hong Kong remaining severely silted.

He noted that the Subic Container Port has a capacity of 600,000 TEUs, but by 2012, the volume remained at less than 40,000 TEUs.

This means that there is a sufficient volume at Subic Port that is worth marketing to vessel lines.