Subic Bay port revenues up 55% to P99M in September

MANILA, Philippines - The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said revenues from its port grew 55 percent in September to P99 million from P63 million in the same month last year due to higher port leases and buildup in its number of ship calls.

SBMA reported a 126 percent year-on-year surge in port leases and rentals in September, while it posted a 53 percent growth in its number of ship calls.

As an alternative port to Manila, SBMA said the Subic Port’s number of domestic and foreign vessels grew by 56 percent and 47 percent, respectively, during the month.

SBMA chairman and administrator Roberto Garcia said the Subic Port also showed improvements in cargo volume in September as containerized cargo shipments swelled by 50 percent in terms of twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

“As of last month, we have already broken our 2014 yearend record of 77,000 TEUs,” Garcia said, adding the volume handled has already reached 93,757 TEUs from January to September this year.

Non-containerized cargo volume also rose by 48 percent in terms of metric tons in September, as compared to the same month last year.

SBMA said these cargoes largely consisted of liquid bulk and petroleum shipments,  bulk and break bulk, and heavy equipment and ro-ro shipments.

Garcia attributed the port’s positive performance to several factors such as Subic’s one-stop shop, which is the only one of its kind in Luzon, SBMA’s port marketing programs and the formation of a maritime technical group.

“All these initiatives plus the fact that Subic Bay is the only port in the Philippines western seaboard that still has enough capacity to handle additional container volume have further sharpened our port’s competitive edge,” the SBMA chief said.