P135.8-million port development projects to bring bigger ships to Subic Bay

P135.8-million port development projects to bring bigger ships to Subic Bay
09/06/2018 https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/p135-8-million-port-development-pro...

Some P135.8 million worth of infrastructure projects designed to expand and further develop port facilities here will bring in bigger ships and boost the income of the Port of Subic upon their completion by next year.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said both the national government and the Subic agency have allocated funds for the port projects bundled in three development packages.

Eisma said these are major infrastructure projects that would significantly develop the Port of Subic to provide better services to port users, rein in more shipping lines, and increase port revenue.

“From merely a handful just a few years back, the number of commercial shipping lines regularly visiting Subic has now reached 23—and these do not include the growing number of cruise ships docking in Subic and bringing in tourists,” Eisma said.

“With the completion of these three port projects by next year, we expect to see more attractive and more efficient port facilities, more customers coming in, and more income for the port,” she added.

The SBMA Seaport Department said the Subic port generated P1.17 billion in 2017, 3.27 percent higher than the P1.13 billion collected in 2016.

Among the shipping lines that regularly call on Subic are APL, Maersk Line, Evergreen Line, K Line, Wan Hai and NYK Fil-Japan Shipping Corp.

Meanwhile, cruise ships have been making regular stops at the Alava Wharf here after the Italian-flagged MV Costa Atlantica arrived in February with about 2,500 passengers and crew. This year, at least 20 cruise-ship arrivals have been scheduled in this free port.

Eisma said bigger cruise ships with about 4,500 guests and personnel on board are expected to arrive once Subic’s port facilities are fully developed.

SBMA Seaport Department General Manager Jerome Martinez said the port-development projects are being implemented in three phases.

Package 1, which cost P4.28 million and was funded by the SBMA, was actually completed last year. This included the repair of SBMA Seaport’s ISPS CCTV Surveillance System Phase I, which covers the area of the former Naval Supply Depot, New Container Terminal and Kalaklan Sector Light.

Package 2, which covers the rehabilitation of port facilities and navigational equipment with the installation of 11 new navigational buoys, including tracking system for existing navigational buoys, is expected to be completed next year. This is being funded by the national government in the amount of P47.5 million.

Package 3, also funded by the national government at P83.9 million, includes the rehabilitation of the NSD Road Network Project (Phase 2) and is expected to be finished next year.

Martinez said the closed-circuit television surveillance system for the port will also augment traffic monitoring on top of its surveillance purpose to help deter theft, vandalism and unauthorized entry.

The new navigational buoys and tracking system will improve ship safety, especially for the giant Quantum-class cruise and cargo ships, as these will provide ship skippers updated maritime information and help determine their current position in relation to land and hidden underwater features.

Martinez said this is more necessary with the arrival in Subic of bigger cruise ships like MS World Dream, which has gross tonnage of 151,300, or the Quantum-class MS Ovation of the Seas with 168,666 gross tons.
Source: Business Mirror