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THE
Bureau of Customs (BOC) along with other government
agencies has asked shippers, mostly the locators of the
economic zones in the Calabarzon area, to use the Port
of Batangas in a move to decongest the ports in Manila
and for shippers to save on costs.
Customs
Commissioner Napoleon Morales said shippers from
Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon) can
save as much as 14 percent on arrestre fees as promised
by the Batangas port’s temporary cargo handler Asian
Terminals Inc., compared with the rates at the Port of
Manila.
“All
systems are go in Batangas port and all we need is the
volume,” Morales told reporters on Friday, referring to
the cargo-handling equipment such as two quay cranes
installed by the Philippine Ports Authority in November.
The port
also has four straddles and the BOC has its own
nonintrusive x-ray machines for containers already
installed.
“We need
to maximize collection by decongesting the Port of
Manila,” he said.
Computations, Morales said, show that if shippers from
the Calabarzon area use the Batangas port, they can save
at least P6,000 on transport cost per trip, or a savings
of about 40 percent to 60 percent as compared with the
cost if the cargo were shipped to Manila.
He
assured locators that processing of customs documents
will take only about 30 minutes, since it will only
handle container shipments of locators from the
Philippine Economic Zone Authority.
The BOC
said the shift to Batangas port will also decongest the
Port of Manila and the Manila International Container
Port and enhance trade facilitation.
“We are
also inviting shipping lines to use the land for their
container- freight station needs. In Manila we can only
offer space on per-square- meter basis and they cannot
expand. In Batangas, we can give them even up to 75
hectares or more,” Morales said, adding that the
initiatives include other government agencies.
Shipping
lines such as NYK Lines, American Presidents Lines and
Hanjin have all started direct calls at Batangas port.
The
liners are ready to call in Batangas port for as long as
the shippers are willing to divert their cargo there.
The said
port is being geared as an alternative terminal to the
congested facilities in Manila, but shippers are
shunning the idea owing to the lack of infrastructure
such as access roads.
On the
other hand, International Container Terminal Services
Inc. (ICTSI), which operates the Bauan Terminal in
Batangas, said that it supports cargo movements in and
out of Calabarzon.
“Bauan
terminal is a multipurpose terminal primarily handling
roll-on, roll-off cargo. Containerized, break-bulk and
other project cargo are also handled at the terminal
that offers services such as stevedoring, yard handling
and special services,” ICTSI said.
The
terminal, which handles mostly cars and other vehicles,
is 60-percent owned by ICTSI, 20 percent by Atlantic
Gulf and Pacific Co. and 20 percent by Marubeni
Philippines. |
