-
Newly expanded Batangas Passenger Terminal (BPT) at the Port of Batangas is ready for an expected influx of passengers as schools reopen for face-to-face classes next week
-
Students are exempt from the terminal fee that BPT charges, and so are senior citizens, PWDs and uniformed personnel
-
The terminal has undergone major upgrades designed for the utmost convenience and comfort of passengers, including the provision of airport-like amenities
The newly expanded Batangas Passenger Terminal (BPT) is ready for an expected influx of passengers as schools reopen for face-to-face classes next week, port operator Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) said.
This was assured by ATI officials during a recent site inspection at Manila South Harbor, which ATI also operates, by Transportation Undersecretary for Maritime Elmer Sarmiento.
BPT, at the Port of Batangas, has docks for both passenger fastcraft and roll on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) vessels.
The terminal is designed to provide utmost convenience and comfort to passengers, including students, resulting from its major upgrades which were unveiled last June, ATI said in a statement.
BPT can seat around 3,000 passengers at any one time in the Phase 1 facility. ATI said the passenger terminal is equipped with airport-like amenities such as LED travel advisory boards, food kiosks, gender-neutral restrooms, mobility features for persons with disability (PWD), and free wi-fi and phone charging stations, among other things.
READ: ATI inaugurates improved Batangas port’s passenger terminal building
Students are exempt from paying BPT’s terminal fee, along with senior citizens, PWDs and uniformed personnel, pursuant to Philippine Ports Authority Administrative Order No. 04-2019.
Students can avail themselves of this privilege by presenting their valid school ID for the current school year. A dedicated student lane has also been set up inside BPT in support of the Department of Education’s Balik Eskwela Program.
Occupying 15,000 square meters, the upgraded passenger terminal building’s Phase 2B will further increase capacity to 6,000 passengers at any given time and will make it the biggest passenger terminal building nationwide.
ATI president Eusebio Tanco earlier said the company has invested P1.5 billion for the project.
Civil works for the expansion of BPT started in 2020 and full completion is expected in 2023.
From January to June this year, BPT had handled nearly 1.1 million outbound passengers, signalling the resurgence of passenger traffic in the new normal, ATI noted.
