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ABOITIZ
Transport System Corp. is expanding its operations in
Cagayan de Oro as a result of higher shipments from
conglomerates that need to ship their agricultural
products from the Philippines to elsewhere in the
country and abroad.
In a
telephone interview, Philippine Ports Authority (PPA)
port services manager in Cagayan de Oro Augusto Lumbay
said on Wednesday that Aboitiz, one of the country’s
largest shipping lines, is already using its new
four-hectare property as its old container freight
station is already operating in full capacity.
“They [Aboitiz]
really need to expand its old container terminal because
they cannot accommodate cargoes [in the old facility]
anymore,” Lumbay said.
Aboitiz
mainly use the port for its perishable items such as
agricultural products from fruit manufacturer Del Monte
Fresh and Nestlé Philippines.
Earlier
reports quoting PPA’s Cagayan de Oro port manager Efren
Bollozos said the Aboitizes are investing about P1
billion to develop the container freight station in the
company’s new property adjacent to the port.
Part of
the investment includes purchase of the property
previously owned by Capicor, a local rice trader, and
some additional cargo-handling equipment.
PPA
officials still has to determine if the company will
really invest that much on the new facility since they
have not seen any new development in the newly purchased
property aside from the company using it as a space to
place excess containers from its older facility.
Vessels
of Aboitiz call at Cagayan de Oro Port at least five
times a week, or an average of 20 a month.
Bollozos
said the Aboitiz’s new facility complements the
operations of the terminal and reduce congestion in the
port, one of the larger gateways in the southern part of
the country.
“Investments from private sector are mushrooming in
Cagayan de Oro, which we expect to boost the performance
of the port particularly on freight,” Bollozos said.
The
Aboitiz group has been expanding its cargo capacity,
including the reduction of spaces meant for passengers
in its SuperFerry vessels, after people have been
shunning its services as a result of cutthroat
competition from interisland vessels and cheap fares
from budget airlines.
As a
result, most of the investments are going for its cargo
business, which now accounts for two-thirds of its total
revenues.
In
Manila, Aboitiz earlier said it would spend some P2
million for the cold-chain facility that will be placed
in the Manila North Harbor. Cold chain, or a series of
temperature-controlled facilities for perishable and
frozen cargoes, is one of the weak points of Aboitiz as
it only has a handful of terminals.
Service
fees, coming from new businesses generated by 2Go, are
also turning out to be a growth generator. For the first
quarter of the year, the company said it grew by 45
percent to P352.2 million, from the previous P242.3
million.
The
company is more and more becoming a third-party
logistics provider to firms such as Mercury Drug and
Wrigley’s. The service involves shipping, transportation
and distribution of products from the manufacturing
gates to any part of the country.
“[ATSC]
is determined to transform itself into a value-added
service organization with its efforts focused on
integrating its services to build complete supply-chain
management solutions,” the company said. |
