Heavy gainer An undated company handout show Samsung Heavy Industries Co.’s shipyard in Geoje Island, South Korea. The world’s second-largest shipbuilder led advances among shipyards in Seoul and Singapore on expectations rising crude prices will spur demand for offshore oil-exploration and -production units. --Bloomberg

ASIAN Terminals Inc. (ATI) said its effort to modernize its flagship facility in Manila would be rendered useless if the government would not reciprocate by putting up more infrastructure going in and out of the port.

Bryan Smith, ATI chairman, said that even if the company and some of its peers in the Port of Manila expand facilities, the government infrastructure going to their ports can only handle so much.

“Somebody has to sponsor for the roads because we will never achieve that volume that we want. That’s where the problem starts. I’ve said this to [Manila Mayor Alfredo] Lim and I’ve said this to the PPA [Philippine Ports Authority],” Smith said.

ATI said it will be spending some P975 million, and some 90 percent of this will be used for the expansion of the Manila South Harbor, and the rest to its other ports.

Company officials explained it is the remaining commitment to the PPA that was stipulated under ATI’s first contract with the state firm for the operation of the South Harbor, which will expire this year.

Officials said the funds will not be used for the expansion of the port, which handles mostly bulk and containerized cargoes, but to buy newer equipment and prepare for the necessary groundwork for the scheduled expansion starting next year.

The amount is part of the $50.6 million that ATI promised to spend for the port, which should be expended during 2005 and 2008.

On October 19, 2007, the PPA extended ATI’s contract from 2009 to 2022, and ATI promised to spend some $300.5 million for the expansion of the facilities based on the agreed-upon investment plan.

The commitment is dependent on container volume and the plan will have to be reviewed every two years to check if it still conforms with the actual growth levels.

“At a certain trigger cargo volume, ATI will have spend [for the facilities]. So it’s a long-term commitment because we will never know what will happen in the future,” Smith said.

The company did not say how much it will invest for the facility next year, but will still assess the economic activity of the ports.

The company earlier declared a net income of P722.8 million last year, or more than 7-percent lower than the P782.6 million it made in 2006, as a result of the strong peso exchange against the dollar.

ATI earlier said it is diversifying its asset portfolio after its defeats in various port biddings in the country, and hinted it may form a partnership with its minority owner Dubai Ports World to bid for various ports available for privatization abroad.

‘Government should do its part to upgrade roads to ports’

ASIAN Terminals Inc. (ATI) said its effort to modernize its flagship facility in Manila would be rendered useless if the government would not reciprocate by putting up more infrastructure going in and out of the port.

THE transportation arm of the Aboitiz Group suffered a net loss for the first quarter of the year as the company said it is continuing to change its operations from purely ferrying passengers and delivering cargoes into becoming a value-added service provider to other firms.

HONG KONG—Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., South Korea’s largest builder by market value, received a $2.07-billion contract to build a power plant in Qatar, the single-biggest overseas plant order for a South Korean company.

WASHINGTON—A one-day strike by 6,000 port workers on the US West Coast brought cargo operations to “a virtual standstill” last week, the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) said.