M/V Decent from Vietnam carrying 10,000 metric tons of Halong cement. Photo from pfez.armm.gov.ph
Mindanao’s economic development will get a boost from the recent registration by port services operator Bangsamoro Terminal Services, Inc. (BTSI) with the Regional Board of Investments (RBOI) of its P129-million investment to improve Polloc Freeport, Maguindanao, according to the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA).
MinDA said this is because Polloc Port provides easy access for bulk cargo in Central Mindanao, particularly Maguindanao, and in the land-locked areas of North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat, and the coastal municipalities of Lanao del Sur.
“The development of the port will significantly reduce transport cost of products and spur economic activities in the South Central Mindanao Development Corridor, and will easily open up more direct links for international trading for this area,” MinDA chairman Datu Abul Khayr Alonto said in a statement.
Polloc Port is a key node in the South Central Mindanao Corridor of MinDA’s Economic Development Corridors. The Mindanao Development Corridors is a spatial development strategy that aims to increase the competitiveness of Mindanao industries by providing them with common service facilities. The program also aims to physically integrate the key economic clusters in Mindanao in a bid to make the region self-reliant and internally dependable.
The program will also prepare the island-region for greater economic cooperation with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) and other member countries of the ASEAN Economic Community.
Alonto added that an efficient inter-regional and connectivity infrastructure in Mindanao is one of the strategies of the agency to deliver lasting peace and development in the island-region.
“If we want people to truly feel what the government is doing for them, we first need to ensure that the physical access to where development is needed is there. This is why we are glad that some of the major connectivity projects for Mindanao are included in the Build Build Build strategy of this administration,” Alonto said.
MinDA said the history of BTSI shows the relevance of Polloc Port to the economic development of Central Mindanao because no less than former Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos was part of the port’s establishment. Ramos foresaw the strategic importance of developing a gateway port in Central Mindanao and helped organize a port services operator for Polloc Port, which was BTSI.
BTSI manager Luigi Piccolo V. Peña said the company currently employs 232 workers and serves several major shipping lines. These include the Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corporation, Lorenzo Shipping Corp., and Minrico Lumber Enterprises for domestic trade. As for foreign trade, the company services Lamsan, Inc., Bonjourno Trading, Holcim Philippines, Inc. and Avigail Hardware. BTSI also provides trucking services to shippers utilizing the Polloc Freeport.
Firms that register their investment with RBOI are entitled to fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, such as income tax holiday, duty-free importation of capital equipment including genetic stock material, exemption from wharfage dues, use of custom-bonded warehouses, streamlined custom procedures, and issuance of investor visa for foreign nationals.
