FILE – Former senator Ferdinand “BongBong” Marcos. Screengrab from Pandesal Forum
MANILA, Philippines — Presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said modernizing the Philippines’ infrastructure will make the country the next logistics hub in Asia.
Marcos emphasized the need to upgrade the country’s aging seaports, airports and railways, as well as expanding them.
“Our strategic location in the Pacific is an advantage that no other country has. It’s time for us to leverage this and aspire to become a major logistics hub in the region. To achieve this we will need to modernize our existing seaports, airports, and railways or build new ones where necessary,” Marcos Jr. said in a statement.
The former senator also highlighted the need for port automation, computerization and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to increase efficiency and prevent port congestion, which will lead to lower shipping costs.
Specifically, Marcos said the country must develop smart ports that use shared data platforms, machine learning and AI to plan and manage critical port operations, including vessel and truck traffic management, container stacking, storage and transshipments.
“We are already seeing changes in the spending habits of Filipinos with the rise of e-commerce platforms,” he said.
“This is a trend that was accelerated by the pandemic and is only expected to grow in the years to come. We need to adapt technologies deployed in other ports such as in Europe and even from our ASEAN neighbor, Singapore, to develop our own Smart ports,” he added.
Marcos also believes that the increased trade generated by modernizing seaports, airports and railways will create a steady revenue stream for the government.
“Global trade will recover soon, and we as a nation should make sure that we are in a better position to benefit from it,” Marcos Jr. added.
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