Subic seaport earns P228.3M in 2007

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — Seaport operations in Subic generated a total of P228.3 million in 2007, one of the highest records registered in the past 10 years, according to Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Feliciano Salonga.

Speaking before Subic Freeport locators and SBMA officials during the SBMA state-of-the-freeport address (SOFA), Salonga also reported “significant improvements” in terms of ship calls, cargo volume and gross registered tonnage last year.

“As we all know, 2006 was a banner year for the SBMA as an investment promotion agency. But our performance indicators in the past two years have generally been in the upswing,” he also announced.

Salonga, who is pushing for the development of Subic as a maritime center for South East Asia, said the SBMA seaport department actually surpassed its revenue record in 2006 by 19.6 percent.

This, he added, represented a steady growth rate in the last two years — from P181.08 million in 2005, to P190.87 million in 2006, and P228.30 last year.

The total revenue earned was composed of P218.15 million in actual collection, and P10.15 million incollectibles, according to SBMA records.

In terms of ship calls, Salonga said that the SBMA seaport recorded a total of 1,778 in 2007, compared to 1,576 in 2006. It also noted an increase in gross registered tonnage (GRT) — from 8,446,073 in 2006 to 10,843,144 in 2007.

As to container volume, the SBMA respectively  posted an increase from 34,601 TEUs in 2006 to 36,450 TEUs last year. Bulk and break bulk cargo tonnage, meanwhile, grew from a total of 1,592,212 tons in 2006 to 1,899,780 tons in 2007.