ICTSI’s new port readies for entry of larger ships

Visayas Container Terminal (VCT), which ICTSI acquired earlier this year, will be equipped to welcome larger ships soon, boosting trade prospects in Western Visayas. VCT executive director Timothee Jeannin said the terminal is receiving its mobile harbor cranes (MHC) in the first week of September. Once the MHCs arrive, Jeannin said VCT would be ready to handle new generation vessels and increase capacity volume for trade. The MHCs will also become the first and largest of their kind in Western Visayas, signifying ICTSI’s commitment to building up its Iloilo operations.

Currently, VCT’s container yard is equipped with 33 reefer plugs, but Jeannin said the company is doubling it to serve the rising demand for perishable items and export products from Western Visayas. VCT is also bustling with warehousing activities from freight forwarders.

As such, Jeannin said VCT is investing in additional forklifts, scheduled to come in in September and by the fourth quarter of the year. On top of this, VCT is spending on the further rehabilitation of the container yard, enhancement works on engineering facilities and construction of multipurpose and recreational spaces.

Outside of the terminal proper, VCT is teaming up with local schools in Iloilo for the training of potential workers, and the company is undertaking a greening program wherein it seeks to plant 100,000 trees within the first year of its concession.

In April, ICTSI received regulatory approval to proceed with the P11 billion development of VCT, formerly the Iloilo Commercial Port Complex. The company owned by the second richest Filipino Enrique Razon Jr. has 25 years to manage the terminal. As was announced, ICTSI will spend P10.53 billion for the 25-year concession of the VCT. The bulk of that amount at P5.81 billion will be used for the rehabilitation and upgrade of the project, while the remaining cost of P4.72 billion will be paid to the government as concession fees.

Primarily, ICTSI wants VCT to improve its shipping capacity, confident that the terminal has the potential to become a logistics powerhouse serving the trading requirements of Western Visayas. ICTSI is elevating its capital expenditures to $450 million this year to finance the completion of its expansion projects, including VCT.