Global port operator International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) is no longer keen on bidding for the Davao-Sasa port.
ICTSI chairman Enrique Razon Jr, on the sidelines of ICTSI’s recent stockholders meeting, said, “The investment requirement is so large and there are numerous private ports already in the area, so we may not bid for that.”
Earlier, ICTSI and listed port operator Asian Terminals Inc. expressed interest in the planned privatization of one of Davao region’s gateways.
The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) earlier this month published an invitation to bid for the P17-billion Davao-Sasa port modernization project.
The project, which will be under a public-private partnership scheme, includes the finance, design, redevelopment, operation, and maintenance of one of Davao region’s gateways.
“I doubt if you can recover that type of investment in Davao,” Razon said, adding that Davao “already has a lot of competition. We invest that money while your competitors are not (doing the same thing); they just operate cheaply. How are you going to recover that?”
Currently, ICTSI, through Davao Integrated Port and Stevedoring Services, Corp., provides cargo-handling services at the Sasa wharf. Its 10-year contact with PPA will expire in 2016.
Aside from Sasa wharf, ICTSI operates in three other ports in Mindanao, namely, Mindanao Container Terminal in Cagayan De Oro; Hijo Port in Tagum, Davao del Norte; and Makar Wharf in General Santos.
Aside from Davao-Sasa, there are more than 15 private ports and several municipal ports in Davao, according to PPA. One other international port in the region is Davao International Container Terminal, established by Anflocor Group of Companies unit San Vicente Terminal and Brokerage Services, Inc. in 2012.
Instead of Davao-Sasa, Razon said ICTSI has set its sights on two African ports. ICTSI has joined the bidding for the development of an existing port in Cameroon and will join another one for a port in Mombasa, Kenya. Razon said both ports have big markets and handle over 1 million containers per year. –Roumina Pablo
