President Arroyo checks on Subic's maritime logistics industry

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT -President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo visits Subic Bay Freeport today (February 11, 2010) to check on the progress of the container terminals constructed under the Subic Port Development Project, one of the cornerstone projects of her administration's bid to develop the Subic-Clark logistics hub.

The President is also scheduled to visit the Hanjin shipyard at the Redondo Peninsula, which has already put the Philippines in the ranks of the world's top shipbuilders in its three years of operation.

Subic Bay Freeport, a former US naval base, is the last stop today in the President's inspection tour of the areas covered by the Luzon Urban Beltway, which started this week.

The Subic Port Development Project is a major component of the Arroyo administration's program to develop an international logistics service hub in the Subic-Clark area. The other components are the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) and the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in another former US military base, the Clark Freeport in Pampanga.

The $215-million Subic Port Development Project was designed to develop the full range of cargo-handling capabilities in Subic Bay, particularly for containerized cargo, in a bid to gain a slice of the growing container trade in the Asia-Pacific.

Subic's New Container Terminals 1 and 2, completed in 2006 and 2008 respectively, have increased Subic's cargo-handling capacity to a total of 600,000 TEUs.

NCT-1 is being operated by the Subic Bay International Terminal Corp., and recently serviced the largest vessel to dock in the Philippines, the APL Bahrain, which was built in the Subic Bay Freeport by Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co.-Philippines, Inc. (HHIC-Phil).

NCT-2 is still in the preparation phase, as the SBMA awaits the approval of the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the bidding to start. Seven contenders have expressed interest to bid for the NCT-2. The contract for the operations of this other new terminal is expected to be sometime in August this year.

Like the NCT-1, NCT-2 has 14 hectares of newly constructed container yard, a 280-meter long newly-constructed wharf, two units of 53-ton quay gantry cranes, as well as buildings, equipment and utilities within the area.

When fully operational, it is expected to boost the break-bulk business, and complement the NCT-1 in the containerized cargo business.

Hanjin's Subic shipyard, meanwhile, has already produced eight container and bulk vessels, the latest being 114,000-deadweight ton tanker MT Leyla K, the first and biggest oil crude tanker ever built in the Philippines.

The Korean shipbuilder has bagged another big-time ship construction project recently, as its reputation for employing skilled and hard-working Filipinos grew with each finished vessel.

According to Hanjin officials, the firm has signed a contract with Hsin Chien Marine Co., Ltd., a Taiwanese shipping company, for the construction of two 180,000-ton Cape-size bulk carrier vessels due for staggered delivery starting September 2011.

By 2012, Hanjin is due to deliver 36 more vessels to customers from all over the world, the company announced earlier.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) administrator Armand Arreza said the HHIC-Phil., which is now the largest shipbuilder in the Philippines and the fourth biggest in the world, won the new contract because of the well-trained workforce, state-of-the-art technology, highly efficient shipbuilding processes, and high quality of workmanship, which made possible the establishment of a cost-efficient shipbuilding industry here.

"What many foreign investors like about Subic is the competitive workforce," Arreza explained. "The Philippine labor force is more competitive than those in other Asian countries. And here in Subic Bay, we take pride in our talented and high-quality workers."

Arreza added that local workers have "high-quality motor and technical skills, are quick learners and hardworking, and they put into practice whatever they learn in trainings."

As of December 2009, shipbuilding and marine-related businesses employ some 25,186 workers in the Subic Bay Freeport. About 68 percent, or 17,000, of these are employed by HHIC-Phil and its sub-contractors, seven of which are among the top 10 employers in Subic Bay. (30)