Solons bat for full use of Subic port

MODERNIZING the Subic container port may help ease Metro Manila’s crippling traffic problem, according to three lawmakers who propose optimizing the operations of the Central Luzon facility to accommodate more shipments.

Goods bound for Central and Northern Luzon no longer need to pass through Metro Manila if the Subic port’s operations are optimized, Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III said on Saturday.

“It is indeed a great idea. It is about time we discuss the Subic port modernization project,” Albano said in a joint news release.

Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone agreed, saying the Duterte administration should consider prioritizing the Subic project as part of the government’s “menu of solutions” to the traffic woes in the nation’s capital.

It will also spur economic growth across Central and North Luzon, he said.

“Anything that will lessen the movement of people and vehicles in Metro Manila is a welcome development,” Parañaque City Rep. Gus Tambunting added.

The three House members cited a study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) showing that Subic is more than well-equipped to accommodate a higher share of the country’s growing container cargo volume.

Subic’s location will also ensure a shorter point of entry for cargoes arriving from or going to Singapore, the lawmakers said.

The Subic container port is a significant component of the Subic-Clark Alliance for Development strategy, which includes the construction of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, and the Clark International Airport.

The aim is to create a “global logistics hub and international gateway” for Central Luzon. But the port, which can easily absorb northbound cargoes, has remained underused, the lawmakers said.

Based on the Jica study, there is a capacity shortage of 14 million twenty-foot equivalent units or TEUs, the capacity unit of container ships, for the Pacific Region, with Singapore already reaching its limit and Hong Kong remaining severely silted.

Subic container port has a capacity of 600,000 TEUs. As of 2012, however, the volume of cargo arriving at Subic is less than 40,000 TEUs, meaning there is a sufficient volume that is worth marketing to vessel lines, the lawmakers said.

There is also a cost advantage ranging from $100 to $200 per TEU for shippers coming from Pampanga and Zambales to ship through Subic rather than from congested Manila ports, they said.

The Jica study has warned that productivity losses may reach P6 billion a day in 2030 if the traffic mess is not solved.

Lawmakers have cited the study as one of the grounds for a move to grant President Duterte emergency powers to address the traffic problem in Metro Manila.