ICTSI acquires 27-ha property for Batangas expansion --[Reported by Umva mag]

INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) has purchased a 27-hectare (ha) property in Batangas for the expansion of its 900-meter berth terminal, the Razon-led port operator said on Thursday.

In a stock exchange disclosure, ICTSI said it had bought a property in San Roque and San Andres, Bauan, Batangas, which is adjacent to its Bauan Port property.

ICTSI said the newly purchased property will be used for its expansion plans, especially for its new 900-meter berth terminal, although it did not disclose the amount of the transaction.

The property is part of ICTSI’s $800-million investment to upgrade and expand its port facilities, aiming to capture regional growth opportunities in Southern Luzon, the company said.

“This project will ultimately boost the economic benefits to the country through the provision of efficient port services,” ICTSI said.

In May, the company said it was set to build a container terminal in Bauan, Batangas valued at $800 million.

The construction of the new international container terminal will begin by the first quarter of 2025 and will be the second-largest container facility next to the Manila International Container Terminal.

The terminal will have a capacity of more than two million twenty-foot equivalent units, featuring up to 900 meters of quay and about eight ship-to-shore gantry cranes.

Located about 120 kilometers south of the Philippines’ capital, the Bauan facility will become the premier international gateway for shippers based in the Calabarzon region, which includes Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon.

Further, ICTSI also continues its port enhancement efforts with the operations of two new mobile harbor cranes at Visayas Container Terminal.

The new cranes will advance its port operations, ICTSI added.

Meanwhile, in a separate regulatory filing on Thursday, ICTSI said the Kwazulu Natal Division of the High Court of South Africa halted the privatization of Durban Container Terminal Pier 2 after issuing an injunction against Transnet.

Transnet is partnering with ICTSI for the upgrade, expansion, and operations of Durban’s Container Terminal Two.

“While ICTSI is fully respectful of the court, it strongly disagrees with the decision… ICTSI maintains that it met or exceeded the tender requirements set out by Transnet and will be countering this case in the appropriate legal manner,” it said.

In July 2023, ICTSI said the company was selected as the partner of Transnet after being declared the preferred bidder under an international tender process.

It said ICTSI was also declared the “best operating partner for this strategically critical port and because it submitted the highest financial bid.”

However, the Maersk group in March this year challenged the decision by filing a legal petition seeking to disqualify ICTSI, which it said “has consequently resulted in the court issuing an interdict until the petition is resolved.”

At the stock exchange on Thursday, shares in the company fell by P9.40, or 2.19%, to P420.40 apiece. — Ashley Erika O. Jose

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