Batangas Container Terminal (BCT) broke through the 100,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEUs) mark in October, the first time in a single year it has done so since the facility started operations in 2010.
With two full months remaining before 2015 ends, BCT has already surpassed its full-year 2014 throughput of over 98,000 TEUs. As of end-September, container volume at BCT had exceeded 99,000 TEUs, 110% more compared to the same period last year.
BCT’s 100,000th TEU was delivered on October 4 aboard MCC Clyde, operated by intra-Asia carrier MCC Transport, according to BCT operator Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI).
MCC Transport has two weekly services via BCT which directly connect Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) shippers to Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia and other key regional and global markets. In addition, Shanghai-based SITC Lines deploys a ship to Batangas for a total of three ship rotations at BCT weekly.
ATI said BCT’s cargoes have grown substantially over the past two years as more shippers patronize south Luzon’s alternative port gateway. BCT is strategically located near Calabarzon’s major manufacturing zones and is seamlessly connected to modern road infrastructure, it added.
BCT is equipped with two quay cranes (QCs), four rubber-tired gantries (RTGs), reach stackers, empty side loaders and internal transfer vehicles. It uses Navis Sparcs as part of its terminal operations system, the same technology supporting the biggest marine terminals in the world.
Encouraged by its growth, ATI said plans are underway to further expand BCT’s capacity, starting with the extension of its quay length and the deployment of additional QCs and RTGs, aligned with ATI’s long-term investment commitment with the Philippine Ports Authority.
