Batangas port incentives get extended
THE PHILIPPINE Economic Zone Authority (Peza) has extended by another year the grant of an incentive that cuts by half the port fees for exporting companies that use the Batangas International Port for their shipping requirements.
In memorandum circular 2015-005, Peza director general Lilia de Lima said that, “as part of the commitment and continuing advocacy to facilitate the immediate and full utilization of the Batangas International Port by our ecozone locators, [we are extending] anew for another year—from January to December 2015—the 50-percent reduction in all Peza processing fees for full container shipments to be discharged or loaded at the BIP.”
De Lima admitted that, although the granting of discounts has been implemented since 2011, the utilization of the Batangas International Port remained low.
“We need to bring in more container volumes and, at the same time, enhance the trade facilitation at the BIP so we can be assured of more ship calls and freight cost savings to the benefit of our ecozone locators and all BIP users and stakeholders,” the circular read.
De Lima called anew on all Peza locators to use the Batangas International Port, noting that they “can do so much to help balance the port container traffic distribution by shifting their Calabarzon destined shipments from Manila ports to the BIP.”
The move to continue a 50-percent discount on the processing fees will help ease the “temporary losses” being incurred by the locators in various Peza-managed ecozones, particularly in the Calabarzon region, due to the continued congestion at the Port of Manila.
