Indonesia-Philippines RoRo Service Up
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Sunday launched a ferry route that will connect the two countries. The Davao-General Santos-Bitung roll on/roll off shipping service from Mindanao to North Sulawesi, Indonesia at the Sasa port in Davao City is launched in a bid to further boost trade in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region. According to local media reports, the vessel sailed off for the Davao-GenSan-Bitung sea route with initial 50 containers, five of which are flour cargoes produced by Pilmico Foods Corp. This new route will shorten shipping lead time from five weeks to two and a half days, Jakarta Globe reported Jokowi as saying.
Bidding for Davao Port Project Moved to March
The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has moved the bid submission for the Davao Sasa Port Modernization public-private partnership (PPP) project to March 28 from Feb. 26 to give interested firms more time to prepare their offers. The bidders include San Miguel Holdings Corp.-APM Terminals Management (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.; Portek International Pte Ltd.-National Marine Corp. Consortium; International Container Terminal Services Inc; Asian Terminals Inc.-DP World FZE Consortium; and Ballore Africa Logistics. The PPP project entails the redevelopment of Davao Sasa Port into a modern container terminal that is on a par with international standards. It is expected to improve access to Mindanao and the Philippines by providing dedicated containerized port in the region.
ICTSI Clarifies Participation in Sasa Project
International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) clarifies that ICTSI’s response was only to an Invitation to Prospective Bidders issued by the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) for the P18.99B Davao Sasa Port Modernization Project. It was not a bid. It only consisted of pre-qualification information. ICTSI has not yet submitted any bid at this stage. The terms of reference for the project has not yet been released by the DOTC, and access to any documentation on the tender, whether feasible or not, will only be available to those who have filed for the pre-qualification. As part of its normal course of business, ICTSI constantly reviews and explores privatization processes in the Philippines and around the world.
Philippine Port Project Draws Multi-National Attention
MANILA, July 29 (Reuters) - A 18.99 billion pesos ($417.91 million) project to modernise a port in the southern Philippines has attracted interest from five groups, a government official said on Wednesday, with bids due to be lodged by the fourth quarter. The government aims to award the contract in April to develop, operate and manage the Davao Sasa port over a 30-year concession period. It will be the first public-private partnership project award by the government on Mindanao, an island blighted by a long-running Islamist militant insurgency. The five groups that have submitted pre-qualification documents included Philippine conglomerate San Miguel Corp partnered with Dutch firm APM Terminals Management BV…
Davao Sasa Port Modernization Project Attracts 6 Firms
Six local and foreign firms have expressed interest to construct a modern Davao Sasa Port, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), Philippines said. The companies that purchased the bid documents include Anflocor, Netherlands-based global operator APMT, Asian Terminals Inc., French conglomerate Bollore, Singapore-based Portek and San Miguel Corporation. “This shows the enormous potential of the Davao region. The construction of a modernized port in Sasa will help meet the growing demand for world-class port services in Davao,” DOTC Secretary Joseph Abaya said. The project involves the development of the existing Sasa Port in Davao City into a modern, international-standard container terminal.
Philippines Approves $3.7 bln worth of new PPP projects
Philippine President Benigno Aquino on Friday gave authorities the go-ahead to offer for tender 165.6 billion pesos ($3.7 billion) worth of new infrastructure projects under his flagship Public-Private Partnership program in line with efforts to upgrade ageing roads, airports and ports. The country needs private funds to upgrade and modernise its dilapidated infrastructure as it aims to lift its growth rate upwards to 8 percent so it can catch up with its richer Southeast Asian neighbours. To be included in the pipeline of projects that could be offered to investors soon under a PPP scheme are the following: operation and maintenance of the Puerto Princesa Airport (5.23 billion pesos…
