Razon’s ICTSI to build $800-M Batangas port

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) will start building by next year an $800-million seaport in Bauan, Batangas, to boost shipping in Calabarzon and provide synergy with Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) located over a hundred kilometers (km) away.

The port, which is designed to handle over 2 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo annually, will have 900 meters of quay and at least eight ship-to-shore gantry cranes. The completion of the first berth is targeted by the end of 2027.

The Razon-led port operator, in a statement on Monday, said this would be the biggest privately funded marine terminal in the country and the largest container facility after MICT—also owned by ICTSI—which has an annual capacity of 3 million TEUs.

The port is situated 120 km south of Manila and 9 km west of Batangas City. It will have direct access to expressways in southern Luzon, which can ease the cargo movements in and out of the facility.

READ: Global expansion lifts ICTSI income by 36%

The Batangas port will also benefit from the Bauan-San Pascual-Batangas-STAR tollway diversion road. Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. and San Miguel Corp.’s upcoming tollway linking Cavite and Bauan is also seen to enhance connectivity to the port.

“The new terminal represents a significant leap forward for southern Luzon. We are building a world-class facility that will unlock a wave of economic benefits for the region and the country,” ICTSI executive vice president Christian Gonzalez said.

Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago told the Inquirer this project was “evidence that cargo traffic and volume in the area and nearby provinces is healthy and is on an upward trend showing our economy’s resiliency and continued recovery from the pandemic.”

According to PPA data, cargo throughput in southern Luzon grew by about 13 percent to 44.54 million metric tons (MT) last year from 39.59 million MT in 2022 as trading activities picked up. The latest figure represents about 16 percent of the total volume in 2023.

Prior to this, the global port operator secured a 25-year concession agreement with the PPA to develop the Iloilo Commercial Port Complex, which has been renamed to Visayas Container Terminal. It is tasked with rehabilitating the terminal facility and bringing in cargo-handling equipment to improve operations at the port.

ICTSI budgeted $450 million in capital expenditures this year to fund the expansion of terminals here and abroad, including facilities in Brazil, Mexico, and Indonesia.

The Razon-led company saw its net income attributable to equity holders improve by 36 percent to $209.88 million in the first quarter due to higher gross revenues from ancillary services and tariff adjustments, among others. INQ