THE Laguna Gateway Inland Container Terminal Inc. (LGICT), the dry port container-handling facility of International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), in Calamba City, Laguna, has been certified by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) as an authorized Off-Dock Customs Facility (OCF).
In a nutshell, the certification allows the dry port to have the customs bureau hold its functions and activities inside the facility. Hence, it may offer faster and seamless services to businesses and industries in Southern Luzon, specifically locators in economic zones using ICTSI’s flagship Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) as their trading gateway.
“As an OCF, LGICT officially becomes an extension of the seaport and, in our case, an extension of the MICT. With this, we will be able to serve the requirements of importers, exporters, forwarders, third-party logistics providers, or locators in the economic zones in the region,” LGICT General Manager Carmela Rodriguez said.
The company aims to offer the new service by April.
It has ongoing activities that will make the dry port a fully compliant OCF, including the installation of a one-stop shop housing BOC and Philippine Economic Zone Authority offices and, in the near future, the revival of the multimodal service via rail.
LGICT has allocated 5 hectares of yard space as customs area, which can accommodate 5,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) at any one time.
With these projects in the pipeline, LGICT clients would benefit from the efficient cargo movement between points, cost rationalization and the development plans of the facility itself, which could bring in new businesses for clients and industry stakeholders.
The dry port, which has an annual capacity of 250,000 TEUs, is strategically located at Barangay San Cristobal, Calamba City, Laguna, near the economic zones in Laguna, Batangas, Quezon and the eastern front of Cavite.
The facility will be able to serve and support trade movement of economic zones within a 30-kilometer radius.
With a terminal area of 21 hectares, 10 hectares of which are allotted to the container yard, the dry port is designed as a conduit that enhances the logistics supply-chain activities of direct-cargo owners and logistics-service providers, and other support services for the benefit of end-users.
Currently, it offers laden container storage, empty depot, reefer-container plugs, dedicated loading and stripping area, and select areas for subleasing. LGICT is equipped with container weighbridge and state-of-the-art container-handling equipment, which on full build will include rubbertired gantries.