International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) is set to develop Hijo International Port (HIP), located in Barangay Madaum, Tagum, Davao del Norte, into the Philippines’ second-largest container terminal after its flagship, the Manila International Container Terminal.
In a document recently presented to Davao stakeholders, including shipping line operators, container depot operators, fruit growers and exporters, ICTSI said the annual capacity of HIP will be boosted to about two million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). In contrast, MICT has an annual capacity of 2.5 million TEUs.
ICTSI is also committed to equip HIP with 12 Panamax quay cranes and 36 rubber-tired gantries, which will give it the largest cargo-handling capability in the whole of Mindanao.
HIP sits within a reclaimed land of about 10.3 hectares. It has two berths: 127m long and 150m long. It has two cargo sheds located in the wharf area and various terminal support facilities. It currently handles approximately 300,000 metric tons of mostly banana volumes annually.
Once fully refurbished, ICTSI said HIP will have an area of over 50 hectares, a 12-meter draft berth—the deepest in the Philippines—and will be capable of servicing between five and seven vessels at any one time.
Last November ICTSI, through its wholly- owned subsidiary Abbotsford Holdings, Inc., acquired 65% of the outstanding capital stock of Hijo International Port Services, Inc, which owns the port.
HIP is ICTSI’s second port-related venture in Davao. ICTSI subsidiary Davao Integrated Port and Stevedoring Services, Corp (DIPSSCOR) is currently the cargo-handling operator of Sasa Wharf, Davao’s largest port. DIPSSCOR’s contract is set to expire in 2016 or even earlier if the Philippine Ports Authority moves ahead with Sasa Wharf’s privatization next year.
The Philippines is the world’s third-biggest exporter of banana, with most shipped through Sasa Wharf despite the facility’s obsolete infrastructure.
HIP is located in the middle of Sasa Wharf and fruit and banana plantations, making it an attractive port for growers.
Photo from www.ictsi.com/cgi-bin/news/newsDetails.php?id=1985&m=1
