• Davao Integrated Port and Stevedoring Services Corp will wind up operations at Sasa Port in Davao as a new operator prepares to take over the gateway
• DIPSSCOR has been operating on a hold-over authority since its 10-year contract for cargo-handling services expired in 2016
• A joint venture of Globalport Terminals Inc. and Globalport Ozamiz Terminal Inc. won a 20-year contract to operate and manage Sasa Port
International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) subsidiary, Davao Integrated Port and Stevedoring Services Corp. (DIPSSCOR), is winding up operations at Sasa Port in Davao as a new operator waits on the wings to take over the gateway.
ICTSI in a regulatory disclosure on July 1 said it was informed recently that the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) had issued a notice to the new operator to begin work and perform the services under the port terminal management contract (PTMC) for Sasa Port.
“In view of the foregoing, DIPSSCOR will immediately unwind its operations at Sasa Wharf in coordination with PPA,” ICTSI said.
DIPSSCOR previously had a 10-year contract with PPA to carry out cargo handling services at Sasa Port but this expired in 2016. DIPSSCOR continued operating at the port on a hold-over basis since April 20, 2016, effective until PPA has formally given the PTMC for Sasa Port to a new operator.
The joint venture of Globalport Terminals Inc. (GTI) and Globalport Ozamiz Terminal Inc. (GP Ozamiz) signed on June 28 a 20-year PTMC to operate and manage Sasa Port at a proposed concession fee of P8.635 billion.
The notice to proceed, signed on the same date, instructed the joint venture to start with the work and perform the services under the terms and conditions of the contract.
The joint venture was the lone bidder for the contract during the opening of bids on May 5 and was subsequently declared the bidder with the highest rated bid.
GTI and GP Ozamiz incorporated Globalport Davao Terminal Inc. recently as their unit that will operate Sasa Port under the PTMC. The contract covers the management and operation of the cargo-handling, passenger, roll-on/roll-off (RoRo), and other port-related services at the Davao gateway.
Sasa Port was the first Tier 2 port to be bid out under PPA’s Port Terminal Management Regulatory Framework (PTMRF), which outlines the new rules for terminal management contracts.
Aside from Sasa port, PPA has bid out and awarded 18 ports under Tier 3 since 2020.
These ports included Puerto Princesa, Ormoc, Tabaco, Legazpi, Zamboanga, Iligan, Ozamiz, Calapan, Tacloban, Nasipit, Matnog, Fort San Pedro, Pulupandan, Surigao, Masao, Tagbilaran, Pagadian, and Pasig River ports.
