INTERNATIONAL Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) is set to build a container terminal in Bauan, Batangas, valued at $800 million, the Razon-led port operator announced on Monday.
“The new terminal represents a significant leap forward for Southern Luzon. We are building a world-class facility that will unlock a wave of economic benefits for the region and the country,” ICTSI Executive Vice-President Christian R. Gonzales said in a statement.
The construction of the new international container terminal will begin by the first quarter of 2025 and will be the second largest container facility next to the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), ICTSI said.
“With the first berth scheduled for completion by the end of 2027, the terminal will become a catalyst for economic growth across Southern Luzon, creating jobs and accelerating regional development,” ICTSI said.
Once completed, the terminal is expected to draw economic growth across Southern Luzon by creating additional jobs and helping accelerate regional development, the company said.
The terminal will have a capacity of more than two million twenty-foot equivalent units capacity, featuring up to 900 meters of quay and about eight ship-to-shore gantry cranes.
Located about a hundred and 20 kilometers south of the Philippines’ capital, the Bauan facility will become the premier international gateway for shippers based in the Calabarzon or the Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon region.
ICTSI said the terminal will also help advance the country’s renewable energy goal by being able to provide marine handling needs required for renewables such as offshore wind projects.
“The facility will likewise allow ICTSI to efficiently balance capacity needs across both the Metro Manila consumption center and Calabarzon through the new Bauan terminal and the MICT,” ICTSI said.
For the first quarter, ICTSI saw its attributable net income jump by 35.7% to $209.88 million for the first quarter, boosted by its international portfolio.
For the January-to-March period, the company’s attributable net income went up to $209.88 million, marking a 35.7% increase from $164.61 million in the same period last year.
The company’s combined revenues surged to $637.65 million, up by 11.4% from $572.25 million a year earlier, its financial report showed.
Broken down, its US operations accounted for the majority, or about 41.1% of its revenues at $262.27 million; Asia at $259.37 million or 40.7%, and EMEA or Europe, the Middle East, and Africa’s operations at $116.01 million, accounting for 18.2%.
This year, ICTSI has allocated $450 million for its capital expenditures earmarked for its recently acquired terminal in Iloilo, the Visayas Container Terminal, formerly known as the Iloilo Commercial Port Complex; expansion in Brazil; the development of the East Java Multipurpose Terminal in Indonesia; and its ongoing expansions in Mexico and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
At the stock exchange on Monday, shares in the company gained P15.40 or 4.46% to and at P361 apiece. — Ashley Erika O. Jose
