PORT operator Asian Terminals, Inc (ATI) will offer a 14% cut in cargo-handling rates in Batangas Port to boost traffic.
“We are implementing the cut to (entice) shippers, particularly locators along the Calabarzon (Calamba, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) area, (to) ship their cargoes to Batangas instead of coursing them through the Manila ports,” Transport undersecretary Ma. Elena Bautista said in an interview.
“The cut would mean significant savings for locators… (the use of Batangas will also mean) faster transit time and lower trucking costs,” she explained. “Overall, they (shippers) could realize a 30-40% cut in their overheads when shipping through Batangas than coursing everything through Manila.”
Aside from the cargo-handling rate cut, government is looking at introducing other measures to jack up volume at the port.
One is the implementation of a coastal barging system where barges pick up cargoes that cannot be serviced by larger vessels.
Implementation is initially eyed in Subic since the area is being positioned as part of a logistics corridor that includes Clark.
“We are planning to adopt coastal barging, coast-to-coast and town-to-town to increase traffic at the logistics corridor,” Bautista said.
“Government is also constantly improving infrastructure at the ports in order to get spillovers from Singapore, Hong Kong or Taiwan in the future,” she added.
Batangas Port, one of 10 ports being groomed by the Philippine Ports Authority to be at par with global standards by 2010, has been aggressively marketing its facilities since 2005 particularly to Calabarzon locators.
The port is targeting to handle 30-40% of the locators’ total volumes.
