ATI urges Calabarzon firms to use Batangas Container Terminal

Port operator Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) urged companies in the Calabarzon area (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) to use its Batangas Container Terminal (BCT) at the Port of Batangas, saying that it would result in savings for them and help decongest Manila's port as well. The Port of Batangas is managed by ATI subsidiary ATI Batangas. The  new BCT makes the port a hub for containerized and general cargoes as well as inter-island roll-on/roll-off ferries (ro-ros), the company said in an earlier statement. ATI provides integrated ports and logistics services at the BCT. “Calabarzon manufacturers should seize and maximize the advantages of BCT, especially with shipping, customs, trucking and brokerage systems now seamlessly integrated at the port,” said  ATI executive vice president Andrew Hoad in a statement. The 12-hectare BCT is within five to 70 kilometers of Calabarzon's industrial zones and is also directly linked to the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR tollway) and the South Luzon expressway. It is also regularly serviced by MCC Transport, which connects the port directly to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. The state-run Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has also been urging the government to look into the proposal by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to reroute some of the cargo shipments destined for the congested Manila Port to the less utilized Subic Bay and the Port of Batangas. — BM, GMA News