Subic now most advanced logistics hub in Phl

MANILA, Philippines – The Subic Bay Freeport Zone is ready to accommodate rising demand in local and international trade with recent facility upgrades and enhanced logistics solutions, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said.

SBMA chairman Roberto Garcia said Subic’s facilities now stand as the most advanced of its type in the country.

Garcia said the freeport’s available services likewise give locators in Asia and around the world the perfect venue for exports and imports while offering dealers, institutions, and companies a stable and secure location to store and trade products.

“Some of the best-known and biggest freeports like those located in Geneva, Singapore and Luxembourg have effectively attracted investments from small, medium and large industries through seamless logistics solutions. These are the same solutions available now in Subic and we expect more and more companies to come here to take advantage of what we can offer them,” he said.

According to SBMA, freeports were originally intended only to provide space to store goods in transit, but this role soon evolved to include the complete conduct of trade and business both inside and outside the country.

With recent developments, SBMA said Subic Bay Freeport has emerged as the main logistics hub for business and industries in Northern and Central Luzon.

“We’ve consistently provided cost-effective logistics for foreign and local industries in Central and Northern Luzon. That is necessary for the country’s competitiveness so that we can attract more foreign direct investments and propel the Philippines towards continued growth. More than that, we want to provide the necessary support to all companies in the Philippines that need access to the rest of the world,” Garcia said.

Located in Olongapo, Zambales, the Subic Bay Freeport is the largest in the country and is supported by the Subic Bay International Terminal Corp. (SBITC), a subsidiary of the International Container Terminal Services Inc. which operates New Container Terminals 1 and 2.

SBITC has terminals with a combined area of 28 hectares and an annual capacity of 600,000 twenty-foot equivalent units or the total number of container vans ships can carry in the terminal.

SBITC’s New Container Terminals 1 and 2 have a combined 11.14-hectare container yard with a modern fleet of mobile container handling units for moving and hauling duties.