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INTERNATIONAL Container Terminal Services Inc. may
bid for the 25-year international cargo-handling contract at the
Port of Batangas, the company announced following its
stockholders’ meeting Thursday.
Enrique K. Razon, ICTSI chairman
and president, told reporters that the company has the documents and
is “studying [to join the bidding].”
The Philippine Ports Authority is
currently in the process of getting investors’ intent to bid for
the P5.5-billion Batangas Port Phase 2.
It occupies an area of 128
hectares compared with the first phase designed for domestic traffic
and operated by Asian Terminals Inc.
Phase 2 is a mix operation of
bulk, break bulk and international containerized cargo, but without
a passenger terminal. It is designed to accommodate 7,000 TEU’s,
or 20-foot equivalent units.
A TEU is a measure of
containerized cargo equal to a standard size of 20-foot length of 8
ft. width and 8.5 ft. in height.
Batangas port is the transport
hub of goods in the Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon
provinces. It also functions as a terminal for passengers traveling
to and from the nearby provinces of Mindoro, Marin-duque, Romblon
and Palawan.
Apart from the Batangas port,
ICTSI also plans to acquire more ports outside the country,
particularly in India, the Middle East, Latin America, Eastern
Europe and Africa.
Razon said that the company’s
investment for its new port venture in China was $53 million this
year. The company also won the 20-year concession to operate a
container terminal in Ecuador.
ICTSI’s international
operations continue to be a significant contributor to its earnings,
which accounted for 60 percent of it’s consolidated net income
last year from 34-percent share in 2005.
Last year ICTSI posted a net
profit of P1.8 billion from P1.34 billion in 2005.
Razon added that the ICTSI board
has approved 30-cent cash dividend, 20 percent higher than the
dividends last year.
The company will pay the dividend
on May 14.
ICTSI operates at the Manila
International Container Terminal in South Harbor, Japan, Indonesia,
Poland, Brazil, Syria and Madagascar.
--Darwin G. Amojelar
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