The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has approved an 11% increase in cargo-handling rates at Batangas Port Phase 1, to take effect on May 28.
The 11% increase is in addition to the 10% provisional increase granted in 2013, according to PPA Memorandum Circular No. 03-2017 dated April 25, 2017 and signed by PPA general manager Atty Jay Santiago.
The matrix for the higher cargo-handling rates is ready but has yet to be signed.
ATI Batangas, Inc., which operates the Batangas terminal’s Phase 1, applied for the rate increase in 2011. Phase 1 covers the port’s passenger, bulk cargo, roll-on/roll-off, and international non-containerized terminals.
ATI Batangas is a subsidiary of Asian Terminals Inc, which also manages and operates the Manila South Harbor.
In 2015, ATI renewed its contract to operate, maintain, and develop Batangas port for another 10 years.
ATI earlier said part of its P4.6-billion capital expenditure this year will go to the development of the multilevel car storage facility (MCSF) in Phase 1, with the MCSF coming online as early as November. The second phase will be finished by mid-2018.
The MCSF project will increase the capacity of the country’s top car carrier port to over 7,000 completely built car units (CBUs) at any single time, in support of booming consumer demand for imported vehicles.
Last year, Batangas handled over 200,000 CBUs, its highest annual car throughput and representing the majority of car sales nationwide.
Aside from berth expansion at the Batangas Container Terminal and the CBU facility construction, ATI is building a new and bigger passenger terminal at Batangas Port.
The new terminal will take up the footprint of the two existing passenger terminals and all the space in between. It will increase capacity of existing terminals by about 75%. Construction will start this year for completion by 2019. – Roumina Pablo
