Davao International Container operator calls for level-playing field at Davao-Sasa

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The Davao International Container Terminal
The Davao International Container Terminal
Photo shows Davao International Container Terminal. The facility’s owner says it is ready to compete head-on with the government’s Davao-Sasa port as long as conditions call for a level-playing field.

DAVAO CITY — Anflo Management and Investment Corp. (Anflocor), which owns Davao International Container Terminal (DICT) in Panabo, Davao del Norte, said it is ready to compete head-on against government-owned Davao-Sasa port as long as there is fair play, according to one of its top officials.

“We are not afraid of competition so long as there is a level playing field, so long as the government will not mandate that all the containers have to go to Sasa, which is unfair,” Anflocor president and chief executive officer Alexander Valoria told media in a recent interview in Davao City.

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and its attached agency, Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), are seeking bids for the P19-billion Davao-Sasa port modernization project. The private sector and local government units in the region have, however, questioned the high project cost which they claim favors international bidders, and the supposed faulty projections on future volume meant to falsely attract bidders.

Valoria pointed out that existing ports in Davao already meet the region’s shipping needs so it “doesn’t make sense” for government to compete with the private sector.

Aside from DICT, there are at least 10 other private ports in the Davao region as well as several PPA-operated ports under the Port Management Office of Davao.

Instead of being purely a container terminal, as intended by DOTC, Davao-Sasa could be harnessed for better uses, including turning it into a cruise or tourism hub as suggested by a number of studies conducted by the Department of Tourism, according to Valoria.

He noted the port could cater to bulk and break bulk shipments and domestic cargoes since Davao City, where the terminal is situated, has many ongoing real estate developments that bring in such shipments.

For now, Valoria said the government has yet to say where it plans to move bulk and break bulk operations of Davao-Sasa port.

The Anflocor chief pointed to several challenges to modernizing Davao-Sasa port, including the lack of road infrastructure to and from the area and non-consultation of the Davao City Council, a requirement under Section 27 of the Local Government Code.

Also the government has not detailed how it had complied with five pre-conditions outlined by the Regional Development Council (RDC) when it endorsed the port modernization project. Valoria said the RDC is requesting to meet with DOTC on the matter.

These pre-conditions are the purchase of a 6.5-hectare land adjacent to the Sasa port area; payment to these land owners; clear decision on who should pay the real property tax involved in the purchase; transfer of informal settlers occupying part of the port to a suitable relocation site; and provision of economic benefits to port shareholders and generation of employment opportunities.

Head-on competition

Valoria is confident DICT can compete with Davao-Sasa port due mainly to its more strategic location. He noted most of the region’s cargoes come from the north of Davao and are nearer Panabo where DICT is located than Davao City, where Davao-Sasa is.

Valoria said a huge amount of agricultural products, which are Davao’s main exports, also originates from plantations under the Anflocor group such as Tagum Agricultural Development Company, Inc. and Anflocor Banana Corp., as well as from Dole-Stanfilco, Anflocor’s joint venture partner in DICT, ensuring steady volumes.

READ: DICT container volume jumps 24.8% in first 10 months

Another development that boosts DICT’s advantage is the recent accreditation of Anflocor Industrial Estate as a Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) area. The industrial estate is nearer DICT than Davao-Sasa and caters to exporters of agro-industrial products.

DOTC said it intends to award the Davao-Sasa project—the country’s first seaport public-private partnership project—by March next year and start construction by June. Bid submissions will be accepted in January 2016, while awarding of the winning bid is targeted for March next year.

The signing of the concession agreement is slated for May. The winning bidder will be tasked to improve, operate, and maintain the port for 25 years. – Text and photo by Roumina Pablo