SBMA to bid out 2nd container terminal in October

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority will be bidding out the new Container Terminal 2 in October, with three foreign groups that failed to participate in the bidding for the Container Terminal 1 already expressing interest. Armand Arreza, SBMA administrator, said the NCT2 is expected to draw more international bidders since its capacity can still be expanded to 600,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), or double its current capacity, unlike the NCT 1, which is limited to its capacity of 300,000 TEUs. He did not name the three foreign groups that expressed interest for the NCT 2. However, he earlier said that they are of Asian and European background. “These three parties that did not participate in the NCT 1 bidding will participate here," he said. These three foreign groups opted out of the NCT 1 bidding because the SBITC consortium enjoyed the right of first refusal to it for being the former operator of the Subic Naval Supply Depot. Arreza said the NCT 2 is already 96 percent complete. SBMA expects to hold the international tender for its operation and maintenance in October and then award the contract by the second quarter of 2008. “We will release the TOR (terms of reference) in October and it will probably the same as the TOR for the NCT 1," Arreza said. NCT 1 has been inaugurated with Subic Bay International Terminal Holdings group as operator. For the NCT 1, SBMA sought a $1.5-million minimum fixed annual lease and concession from the operator. The SBMA also wants a 10 to 12 percent revenue sharing per container that will go through the facility. Including wharfage fees, Arreza said the SBMA sees potential annual revenues for the 300,000-TEU capacity at $6 million. The annual lease for the port, which has a lifespan of 50 years, will be enough to shoulder the $60-million loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation that was used to partly fund the project. Arreza said since the NCT 2 will be completed by the time the contract is awarded, the operator will be enjoying a quick start-up. Also, the operator has the option to double its capacity to 600,000 TEUs. - GMANews.TV