PPA bids out 25-year contract for Iloilo port

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Ports Authority is inviting bids for a P500 million initiative to manage and maintain the Iloilo Commercial Port Complex (ICPC).

This move comes in response to the persistent call from the local government for the privatization of the ICPC.

The PPA is seeking proposals from the private sector for the port terminal management contract of the baseport of ICPC, a project that was previously eyed by Razon-led International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI).

Based on the invitation to bid, the PPA will grant the winning proponent the right to operate and maintain the ICPC for a period of 25 years.

In exchange, the concessionaire will pay a minimum of P500 million in concession, exclusive of taxes, to the PPA from the sixth to 10th year of the project. The agency set the minimum concession fee for the sixth year at P100 million.

The winning bidder for the project will get the right to handle the anchorage operations, ancillary services, bagging services, berth management and berthside operations of the baseport of ICPC. It will also run the container terminal and its covered facilities.

Proponents are required to present at least two years of experience in providing cargo services or port management.

They must also prove that they accumulated a minimum of 10 years of background in handling foreign cargo, both containerized and non-containerized.

The PPA will hold a pre-bid conference on Dec. 1 and will close the submissions and open the bids on Dec. 18. The agency will reject all bids that fall below the minimum concession fee of P500 million.

In October, the local government of Iloilo asked the Department of Transportation to speed up the privatization of the ICPC, citing the need to expand its capacity. Iloilo Mayor Jerry Treñas wants the port enhanced to help in the economic recovery of Western Visayas from the pandemic lull.

It can be recalled that ICTSI had filed a P5 billion proposal to redevelop the ICPC, including the Port of Dumangas, also situated in Iloilo.

The ICPC serves as one of the largest ports in Visayas and is projected to expand further with the entry of new shippers.