SBMA bidding contract to operate Container Terminal 1

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) is now bidding out the 30-year contract for the operation of the soon-to-be-completed Container Terminal 1 (CT 1) inside the Subic Bay Freeport, GMANews.TV learned Sunday. The terminal is projected to rake in about $6 million in annual revenues for the agency. SBMA administrator Armand Arreza said that the terms of reference (TOR) is already available at $2,000 and the announcements for the invitation to bid will be published both in the country and abroad. Arreza said the SBMA will be seeking a $1.5-million minimum fixed annual lease and concession from the would-be operator of the new container port, which has a capacity of 300,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). The 14-hectare CT 1 is now receiving finishing touches and is expected to be finished within the month. It was constructed through a $60-million loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. Arreza said the SBMA also wants a 10 to 12 percent revenue sharing per container that will go through the facility. Including wharfage fees, Arreza said CT 1 “has a potential $6 million in annual revenues." He said the annual lease for port, which has a lifespan of 50 years, will be enough to shoulder the JBIC loan. The Subic Bay International Terminal Corp. (SBITC), a joint venture of Royal Port Services Inc., Subic Bay International, which is 83 percent owned by International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), and SBMA, has the right of first refusal for the CT 1 as a result of a concession deal that it forged with the SBMA in 2000 for the operation of the Navy Supply Depot (NSD), the Freeport’s existing port. Arreza said this means that the SBITC can still snatch the contract for the CT 1 even if it loses to another bidder in the actual bidding. “If a bidder meets the minimum requirements and beat SBITC, the joint venture can still get the contract by simply matching the offer of the winning bidder," Arreza said. The contract, Arreza said, could be awarded to SBITC as early June should there be no other bidder. If there are other bidders, the awarding of the contract could happen in August. Should the SBITC loses the CT 1, it can still operate the NSD, which will become a general cargo and container terminal. The Container Terminal 2, meanwhile, is scheduled for completion in June. The contract for its operation will be up for bidding after the operator of the CT 1 has been chosen, Arreza said. - GMANews.TV