Bataan freeport agency to build P1-B seaport

MANILA, Philippines - The Authority of Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) will spend P1 billion for a seaport to facilitate the quicker transfer of goods from Manila to Bataan and make the freeport a more competitive investment destination.

In an interview, AFAB chairman and administrator Deogracias Custodio said the port project is an ideal one since the freeport lacks competitiveness in logistics as the only mode of transportation to the area is by land. AFAB is three hours away from Metro Manila by land while Clark is only an hour away. Subic, on the other hand has its own port.

Custodio said their deficiency in logistics is being compensated by lower power and water costs for their locators.

He said he expects construction for the port to begin this year provided that they will be able to secure a location. He noted that the port can be located even outside their current area but still within Mariveles.

Custodio said they would likely build a temporary port first and then expand to a bigger port in the coming years. The initial funding will come from the local government or the internal revenue allotment, he said. For the expansion, he said a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme can be worked out wherein a private port operator can come in.

Initially, he said the port will be a domestic port handling cargo from Metro Manila but in time, he said it can be an international port.

For its first year of operations, AFAB has already registered P1.5 billion worth of new investments, the biggest of which is from Hong Kong garment firm Luen Thai Group Ltd.

The firm will be investing $20 million to $30 million for an apparel manufacturing facility, their fourth biggest plant in the Philippines, which will employ 4,000 to 6,000. Luen Thai president Raymond Tan said his Bataan facility will be producing garments for Uniqlo. The facility will be operational by the first half of 2012. 

Tan said the Philippines is the only non-China strategy of the $1.6-billion Luen Thai empire. This is despite the higher minimum wage rate of the Philippines when compared to Cambodia, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam.

He explained that he prefers the Philippines because the Filipinos are “committed, honest and hardworking” people.