MANILA, Philippines–International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) is bidding for two projects in Africa, a market that the company is keen on developing., according to company chair and president Enrique Razon Jr.
In an interview with reporters following ICTSI’s annual stockholders’ meeting on Thursday, company president Enrique Razon Jr. said ICTSI had placed bids for existing projects in The Republic of Cameroon, in Central Africa, and Mombasa in Kenya.
“Those are the two (projects) so far this year,” Razon told reporters, citing it was the size of these projects and their potential markets that made ICTSI interested in them.
“Kenya is a big market. (The port) has a capacity of more than 1 million containers,” Razon said, adding that the Cameroon facility was of similar size.
The company has been casting its gaze toward Africa given new opportunities opening up. So far, ICTSI has projects Madagascar, Nigeria and Congo. These are among 29 port projects the company has all around the world, with eight in the Philippines.
Despite its diverse footprint, the group’s seven key terminal operations in Manila, Brazil, Poland, Madagascar, China, Ecuador and Pakistan, which grew 10 percent, accounted for 74 percent of the company’s 2014 revenue.
ICTSI booked $1.1 billion in port revenue last year, representing a gain of 24 percent. Its net income hit $182 million, up 6 percent in 2014 over the previous year.
It is setting aside about $530 million in capital expenditure for 2015.
The money will be allocated mainly for the completion of developments at the new container terminals in Mexico and Democratic Republic of Congo, capacity expansion in its terminal operation in Manila, and the start of construction of new terminals in Iraq and Australia.
With regard to ICTSI’s joint venture container terminal development project with PSA International Pte Ltd. (PSA) in Buenaventura, Colombia, the company invested $64.7 million in 2014 and expects to invest $140 million in 2015 to complete phase one of the project.