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THE
Philippine government has delayed the privatization
process of the Batangas Port’s second phase to attract
more companies interested in running the facility.
Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) general manager Oscar
M. Sevilla told reporters Monday that the Batangas
port’s bidding process would be restarted in October
once the cargo handling equipment arrives. He added that
the two companies, which were earlier qualified to bid
will still remain eligible.
Last
May, the International Container Terminal Services Inc.
and Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI), both listed at the
Philippine Stock Exchange, have been declared eligible
to bid for the management and operations of the port’s
international terminal.
“By
October, we expect the delivery and installation of new
cranes and other cargo-handling equipment from
China,
which we think will lure more investors to take a second
look at the port,” Sevilla said, adding that the agency
intends to have at least seven companies to join the
bidding.
According to the amended privatization’s terms of
reference, the port agency is required to be informed of
the nationality of principals who owns more than 5
percent of the companies, since the government has
allowed joint venture companies to bid.
The
agency also said it wants to know whether interested
bidders can operate the terminal by showing proof of its
capabilities to handle cargo.
This is
not the first time that the government delayed the
Batangas Port’s bidding. Besides failing to attract
investors, the said port has yet to show any
profitability since it has been earlier shunned by
shipping lines owing to the lack of equipment and
infrastructure gridlocks within the Southern Tagalog
region.
Earlier,
the PPA admitted that it had difficulty fine-tuning the
privatization’s terms of reference since it had no
historical figures to base its provisions as cargo
volume handled in Batangas remains very small.
Up for
auction is a contract for dredging and reclamation,
construction of two foreign container cargo berths,
reconstruction of the general cargo berth at the Phase 1
area with provision for a stacking yard, establishment
of a container freight station, terminal building,
utilities, access road, and other support facilities.
The said
port is being geared as an alternative terminal to the
congested facilities in Manila.
The
first phase of the Batangas port’s development, which
ATI currently manages, is for domestic operations,
covering ferry, Roll-on Roll-off, and general cargo
services. It was completed in 1997. |
