General Santos port up for privatization

MANILA, Philippines — One of the largest ports south of Mindanao will be handed over to a private operator by the second half of the year, and the biggest logistics players are gearing up to bid for it.

The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) will bid out the operations and maintenance for the Port of General Santos this year as part of its strategy to team up with the private sector in managing its big-ticket infrastructure.

PPA general manager Jay Santiago said his agency would release bidding documents as soon as the election ban is lifted. The PPA is hoping to name a concessionaire before the end of the year.

Santiago expects industry leaders International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), Asian Terminals Inc. and Globalport 900 Inc. to throw their hat into the ring. He also expects the bidding to attract interest from Mindanao-based players like Kudos Trucking Corp.

Santiago said the Port of General Santos is one of the busiest ports in Mindanao and plays a crucial role in the commerce and trade of Soccsksargen. The port, also known as Makar Wharf, is situated at the mouth of Sarangani Bay, which leads to the Celebes Sea.

Based on its design profile, the Port of General Santos features a berthing area 851 meters long, allowing it to accommodate up to five vessels at the same time.

The port also boasts four container yards spanning 40,820 square meters.This space can store as many as 4,600 dry shipping containers.

Likewise, the Port of General Santos offers a reefer rack facility that can park 204 container vans all at once. It is equipped with facilities including a weighbridge, transit sheds and livestock marshaling area.

The PPA was supposed to bid out the contract for the Port of General Santos earlier, but the agency had to defer it to consider changes made to the Public-Private Partnership Code. Afterward, the PPA was tasked to deliver a feasibility study factoring in the revisions in the PPP Code.

By the time the PPA had completed the feasibility study, the agency was hit with the election ban on infrastructure spending. The PPA is now left with no choice but to hold the bidding once the midterm elections are over.

“We were held up by the preparation of the FS [feasibility study]. Now, we have to comply with the election ban. Hopefully, we should be able to bid that out, the Port of General Santos, by the second half of the year,” Santiago told The STAR.

As the port awaits its turnover to private hands, the PPA has committed to spend continuously for its maintenance and upgrade to improve its capability in handling cargoes.

Recently, Santiago said the PPA has placed an order for quay cranes to be placed at the Visayas Container Terminal (VCT) in Iloilo, now operating under ICTSI.

Santiago said the quay cranes will arrive in 1.5 years, and these equipment will help VCT dock larger vessels. The PPA aims to make the same investments in the Port of General Santos to raise its efficiency and sustain its expansion.

“We have development plans for both Iloilo and Gensan. For Iloilo, we have procured and we are waiting for the delivery in 1.5 years of quay cranes to accommodate bigger ships. Same thing in Gensan, the bidding will not stop our continuing developments in the port,” Santiago said.

Awaiting the latest data, the Port of General Santos facilitated 3.33 million metric tons of cargoes in 2021, when the Philippines was still reeling from the pandemic slowdown.

In 2024 the PPA awarded to ICTSI the 25-year deal to operate and maintain the VCT – formerly the Iloilo Commercial Port Complex – on the condition that the company spends P10.53 billion for asset upgrades and concession fees.

Since then, the VCT has welcomed new equipment, including mobile harbor cranes, that enabled it to facilitate wider ships, boosting trade activities in Western Visayas.