Starting October 1, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) will drastically reduce port and berthing dues at Subic ports in a bid to attract more users to this facility north of Metro Manila.
Port fees at Subic’s New Container Terminals (NCT) 1 and 2 will be reduced to $0.008 per gross revenue tonnage, lower by 83% from the present $0.046 per GRT, while berthing fees will be cut to $0.004 per GRT per day, an 88% decrease from $0.0345 per GRT per day.
However, SBMA chairman Roberto Garcia, in a press briefing, said the new rates will be increased after six months to $0.041 for harbor fees and $0.02 for berthing fees, still lower than the regular rates.
With the reduced rates, Garcia said SBMA expects to lose $10 million to $15 million in uncollected harbor and berthing fees during the duration of the program.
“But we hope to recoup the losses in the long run, as we’re also doing this to encourage new lines to come over, as well as to show our appreciation to existing shipping lines that have stuck with Subic in all its lean years,” he added.
To further attract shippers and shipping lines to Subic, Garcia said the Freeport authority is in talks with shipping lines, locators, and port users on simplifying accreditation processes for port-related services and integrating systems for real-time monitoring and management of container inventory.
SBMA is also planning to build a P2.1-billion bypass road to accommodate growing container traffic, as well as a one-stop shop to facilitate release of shipments and minimize corruption.
Earlier, in August, a 90% reduction in port and berthing dues at Batangas port was approved by President Benigno Aquino III. Port fees were slashed from $0.081 per GRT per day to $0.008 per GRT per day, while dockage-at-berth went down from $0.039 per GRT per day to $0.004 per GRT per day.
The new rates at Batangas, however, will apply for six months only. For the succeeding six months, rates will be reduced to 50% for both. This means port fees of $0.081 per GRT per day will rise to $0.040 per GRT per day, and berthing dues of $0.039 per GRT per day will increase to $0.020 per GRT per day.
Both Subic and Batangas ports, under Executive Order No. 172 signed September 13 by President Aquino were designated extensions of the Port of Manila (both Manila International Container Terminal and South Harbor) during times of port congestion and emergency.
Under the order, foreign vessels with cargoes destined for the Port of Manila may be directed to berth at either Batangas or Subic port and it will be considered as berthing at the Manila ports.
Garcia said SBMA expects Subic port to handle as many as 70,000 containers this year from 38,000 last year, as overstaying containers at the Manila ports are being moved to the Northern Luzon hub for temporary storage.
Container traffic for the first eight months of 2014 at Subic’s NCT 1 surged 54.58% to 34,746.25 twenty-foot equivalent units from 22,437.75 TEUs in the same period last year.
In August alone, NCT 1 posted the highest monthly traffic in 2014 of 8,770.25 TEUs, a 243.7% hike from 2,551.75 TEUs in August 2013.
Subic’s NCT 1 and 2 have a combined annual capacity of 600,000 TEUs. — Roumina Pablo
