International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) said the Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT) has started servicing the Regional Container Line’s (RCL) South Philippines 6 (RSP6) service that connects Visayas and Mindanao to Asia and the Middle East via Singapore.
Operated by two vessels and covers the Singapore-Cebu-Cagayan-Singapore route, the service provides “competitive connections” for the Philippine provinces and cities to other Southeast Asian, Indian, Middle Easter, South Asian, and East Asian markets.
Roberto Locsin, the general manager of the terminal, said the fixed-day weekly service will help drive growth to farmers, manufacturers, and other producers in the Philippines.
“Now more than ever, local businesses need help to bounce back, and the new service line will undoubtedly give them the boost they need,” he said.
The service made its first port call on December 19.
“For the City of Cagayan de Oro and the rest of Misamis Oriental, the new service strengthens our position as a major agro-industrial exporter. The availability of a regular and predictable service to a major international hub also presents opportunities for entrepreneurs and industries to move up the value chain. This could only mean higher incomes, more jobs, and a more comfortable life for our people,” Philippine Veterans Investment Development Corp. (Phivdec) Industrial Estate Administrator Jose Gabriel la Viña said.
Eagle Express Group Chairman Angelito Colona noted that the new service is a “bright opportunity” for the Philippines.
Headquartered in Thailand, RCL owns and operates 46 container vessels covering more than 66 destinations in Asia, India, India subcontinent, and the Middle East. The company has been operating in the Philippines for 32 years.
MCT, which operates at the Phivdec Industrial Estate in Misamis Oriental, handles international and domestic cargo and offers container handling, yard management, reefer monitoring, and water bunkering among other port services, serving as a transshipment hub connecting Northern Mindanao to the Visayas and other parts of the country.
The terminal is projected to post a 7-percent growth for 2021, thanks to modernization initiatives that were started and completed in 2020.