By: Ben O. de Vera

Economic managers have approved the P50-billion Subic-Clark Railway project that would not only connect the two industrial hubs in Central Luzon but also eventually be part of the larger network of rails connecting major seaports in Luzon island.

The project was approved during last Friday’s National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee meeting, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III told reporters late Friday.

As such, it would be next for approval by the Neda board, chaired by the President.

Railway network

Dominguez noted that once completed, the project would be part of the railway network connecting Subic, Manila and Batangas, which host busy ports.

Besides the Subic-Clark Railway, also to be rolled out are rail systems connecting Clark to Malolos, Bulacan, to Manila, and to the Bicol Region through Laguna and Batangas provinces.

Neda Undersecretary Rolando Tungpalan told the Inquirer on Saturday that the Subic-Clark Railway would be financed by the Chinese government.

The Department of Finance earlier said China might provide a $947.64-million loan to roll out the railway system.

Memo of understanding

Last November, Dominguez and the Chinese commerce vice minister and international trade representative, Fu Ziying, signed a memorandum of understanding “to jointly identify and study an indicative list consisting of the second basket of key infrastructure cooperation projects for possible Chinese financing,” which besides the Subic-Clark Railway also included the Davao City Expressway, as well as the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Inter-Island Bridge.

The first basket of infrastructure projects to be funded by China included the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System’s New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam.

Source: Inquirer.net

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By JP Soriano, GMA News

One of the World’s Biggest Vessels 100% Made in the Philippines
One of the biggest commercial vessels in the world is 100 percent made in the Philippines, particularly at the Subic Bay shipyard of Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction-Philippines.

A gigantic ship such as the TEU class container vessel is now considered as one of the biggest commercial ships in the world, and the best part is that it is 100-percent made in the Philippines, crafted mostly by Filipinos.

Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction-Philippines formally launched on Thursday the first-ever Subic-made 20,600-TEU class container vessel.

TEU or Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit is used to measure a ship’s cargo-carrying capacity. One TEU is equivalent to a standard 20-foot shipping container, or 20-feet long by 8-feet tall.

The newly-built container ship measures 400 meters in length, 59 meters in width, and 33 meters in depth. Its deck is as big as four football fields.

It can transport up to 20,950 units of 40-foot shipping container which, when lined up one after another, would reach 12.5 kilometers long.

Jo Yoo-Hoan, managing director and naval architect at Hanjin Heavy, says said it took them more than two years to build this historic ship.

While it is Korean in terms of production and design, he is proud to have experienced world class craftsmanship and professionalism of the Filipino ship makers.

“We’re very proud of it, with the Philippine workers and the staff, very proud of them. They are so organized, so kind, and so skillful. Wonderful, you know, workers. Our relationship between Korea and Philippines is fantastic.” Jo said.

The launch was witnessed by former President and incumbent Pampanga 2nd District Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Senator Richard Gordon, SBMA chairperson Wilma Eisma, and other local officials.

In her speech, Arroyo recalled how Hanjin Heavy first invested a $1 billion to set up the shipbuilder during her term in 2005.

While Hanjin Heavy thrived in the Philippines, Arroyo advised the company to prepare for the coming challenges as a result of changes in the world economy.

“Even though we are now recovering from the global recession, petroleum production has gone down, the demand for oil tankers has gone down. So, the ship-building industry continues to have its challenges,” Arroyo said.

Because of the world class craftsmanship that showcased Filipino talent in building the ship, Senator Richard Gordon is encouraging maritime academies in the Philippines to include or highlight naval architectural design in their curriculum.

“It is high time, I think, that part of the contribution of Hanjin should be to welcome maritime design. But before they can do that, our government must therefore make sure that part of naval architectural design be incorporated in the naval courses or the maritime courses of the maritime academies all over the Philippines,” the senator noted.

The newly-built vessel is the first of three 20,600-TEU class Ultra Large Container ships and is to be delivered by Hanjin Heavy to French shipping company CMA CGM SA, three years after the contract was signed in April 2015. —VDS, GMA News

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SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) is pursuing a regular schedule for the processing of passports in the Freeport in order to serve residents of the Subic Bay area and nearby communities.

SBMA Chairperson and Administrator Wilma Eisma said she has requested the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to conduct passport processing here at least twice a year and, later on, to establish full consular services at the Subic Bay Freeport.

“The plan is to start with a passport issuance office, which will evolve into a consular affairs office,” Eisma said in a media briefing on Monday.

The SBMA official made this announcement after the successful conduct of a mobile passport processing activity at the Ayala Harbor Point Mall here on January 13, where some 700 passport applications were processed by visiting DFA personnel.

The project was spearheaded by the DFA and SBMA, with the DFA contingent led by Office of the Consular Affairs Regional Center Chief Bayani Sibug and the SBMA technical working group headed by SBMA Office Services Department chief Gerardo Hermoso, Jr.

“We received an overwhelming number of requests from residents for another passport processing project, as a lot of residents were disappointed to find out that no walk-in applicants were entertained,” Eisma said. “So we would try to make this a regular project for the benefit of local residents.”

Hermoso said the passport processing project was, at first, intended for SBMA employees only, as part of the agency’s 25th founding anniversary program. The applications processed on January 13 were actually filed for pre-qualification last October.

However, the project was later on extended to include immediate family members of SBMA employees to fill the 750 slots given by the DFA, until it was opened to walk-in applicants during the final acceptance of requirements last year.

The applications and requirements accepted by the SBMA TWG were sent to the DFA office in Manila for verification to hasten processing time when they come here for the personal appearance of applicants and the data-capturing phase of the processing, Hermoso explained.

Eisma, however, assured Subic Bay residents that the SBMA is now coordinating with the DFA for the next application processing project.

“Hopefully, we will have another one by the fourth quarter and that will be a regular event,” she said.

“This will be among our corporate social responsibility projects to help residents of neighboring towns, as well as assist the DFA in their mission to promote and protect Philippine interests in the global community,” Eisma further said.

In August last year, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act 10928, which extended the validity of Philippine passports, by amending the Philippine Passport Act of 1996.

Chairman Eisma said the Subic agency will announce the schedule of the next mobile passport processing project via its radio station Subic Bay radio 89.5-FM, as well as social media and other platforms for public announcement. (Ric Sapnu/SunStar Pampanga)

source: www.sunstar.com.ph

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Members of an Aeta family from Zambales province join environmental and other groups in filing a petition in the Court of Appeals in Manila against the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Subic Bay Freeport. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

A fresh round of protests was launched on Tuesday to stop the construction of a 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant in the Subic Bay Freeport.

Members of environmental groups from Zambales province and residents of Olongapo City marched in a “solidarity walk” along Manila streets before filing a petition in the Court of Appeals (CA) to stop the project of Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. (RP Energy).

RP Energy is a consortium composed of the Manila Electric Co., the Aboitiz Group of Companies and Taiwan Cogen Inc.

Around 200 marchers, who belong to Save Subic Bay: No
to Coal Stakeholders Coalition, walked from the University of the Philippines Manila campus to the CA. They were joined by members of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ).

The lawsuit against RP Energy, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), and the Department of Transportation was filed by the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber for Health and Environment Conservation (SBFCHEC) led by its president, Jen Velarmino-Van Der Heijde.

Smokestack

Joining the petition were Olongapo City Vice Mayor Aquilino Yorac-Cortez Jr.; 19 residents of Olongapo, Subic and nearby towns of Bataan and Zambales provinces; and PMCJ represented by lawyer and Sanlakas secretary general Jose Aaron Pedrosa Jr.

The petitioners invoked what they described as “the imperative need to rectify the breach of statutory responsibilities of the Department of Transportation and the CAAP under the domestic and international aviation standards.”

They claimed the CAAP issued a height clearance permit allowing RP Energy to erect
a 144-meter dual smokestack for the power plant, atop a 10.68-meter elevated area.

They asked the appeals court to issue a temporary restraining order or writ of preliminary injunction to stop the construction, cancel RP Energy’s height clearance permit, and to provide them with copies of all CAAP documents regarding the project.

The petitioners said RP Energy’s presentation of the project showed the smokestack alone would be 150 meters high, so the total height would be 160.68 meters, way above the 150-meter limitation set by the CAAP for areas around the Subic Bay International Airport.

The Inquirer on Tuesday tried to reach Jason Gavina, corporate social responsibility officer of the RP Energy office at Subic Bay Freeport, for a statement, but he did not take calls. He also did not reply to text messages.

Permit

RP Energy began initial construction despite its failure to secure the necessary construction permit from the building permit and safety department of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), the petitioners said.

“The proposed coal plant project will hamper the growth of Subic and nearby areas as it would render the existing runway unfit for use. Residents will be robbed of their airport for a plant that would not even produce a single watt of electric power for Subic,” Pedrosa said.

The petitioners also complained about threats of environmental degradation and dangers to health posed by the power plant.

“Certain imperative and essential risks involved with this project have not been properly bared and addressed,” the petitioners said, noting that the legislative councils of Olongapo and Zambales had opposed the coal plant, fearful of its “deadly effects on communities and residents.”

Supreme Court Case

Members of an Aeta family from Zambales province join environmental and other groups in filing a petition in the Court of Appeals in Manila against the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Subic Bay Freeport. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

A fresh round of protests was launched on Tuesday to stop the construction of a 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant in the Subic Bay Freeport.

Members of environmental groups from Zambales province and residents of Olongapo City marched in a “solidarity walk” along Manila streets before filing a petition in the Court of Appeals (CA) to stop the project of Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. (RP Energy).

RP Energy is a consortium composed of the Manila Electric Co., the Aboitiz Group of Companies and Taiwan Cogen Inc.

Around 200 marchers, who belong to Save Subic Bay: No
to Coal Stakeholders Coalition, walked from the University of the Philippines Manila campus to the CA. They were joined by members of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ).

The lawsuit against RP Energy, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), and the Department of Transportation was filed by the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber for Health and Environment Conservation (SBFCHEC) led by its president, Jen Velarmino-Van Der Heijde.

Smokestack

Joining the petition were Olongapo City Vice Mayor Aquilino Yorac-Cortez Jr.; 19 residents of Olongapo, Subic and nearby towns of Bataan and Zambales provinces; and PMCJ represented by lawyer and Sanlakas secretary general Jose Aaron Pedrosa Jr.

The petitioners invoked what they described as “the imperative need to rectify the breach of statutory responsibilities of the Department of Transportation and the CAAP under the domestic and international aviation standards.”

They claimed the CAAP issued a height clearance permit allowing RP Energy to erect
a 144-meter dual smokestack for the power plant, atop a 10.68-meter elevated area.

They asked the appeals court to issue a temporary restraining order or writ of preliminary injunction to stop the construction, cancel RP Energy’s height clearance permit, and to provide them with copies of all CAAP documents regarding the project.

The petitioners said RP Energy’s presentation of the project showed the smokestack alone would be 150 meters high, so the total height would be 160.68 meters, way above the 150-meter limitation set by the CAAP for areas around the Subic Bay International Airport.

The Inquirer on Tuesday tried to reach Jason Gavina, corporate social responsibility officer of the RP Energy office at Subic Bay Freeport, for a statement, but he did not take calls. He also did not reply to text messages.

Permit

RP Energy began initial construction despite its failure to secure the necessary construction permit from the building permit and safety department of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), the petitioners said.

“The proposed coal plant project will hamper the growth of Subic and nearby areas as it would render the existing runway unfit for use. Residents will be robbed of their airport for a plant that would not even produce a single watt of electric power for Subic,” Pedrosa said.

The petitioners also complained about threats of environmental degradation and dangers to health posed by the power plant.

“Certain imperative and essential risks involved with this project have not been properly bared and addressed,” the petitioners said, noting that the legislative councils of Olongapo and Zambales had opposed the coal plant, fearful of its “deadly effects on communities and residents.”

Supreme Court case

In February 2015, the Supreme Court set aside the writ of kalikasan asked by environmental groups and the No to Coal in Subic Bay Broader Coalition, a group of environmental and renewable energy advocates.

The high court also upheld the validity of the environmental compliance certificate issued to RP Energy by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in December 2008.

RP Energy had signed a 50-year lease development agreement with the SBMA on June 28, 2010, for the use of 38 hectares of land in the free port.

source: newsinfo.inquirer.ne

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By Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat

Subic Bay International Terminal Corp. (SBITC) is optimistic on its operation as the Subic Bay Freeport Zone becomes more robust this 2018 due to increasing investments and activities in the port area.

Due to recent developments in logistics infrastructure and rapid economic growth, Asia is experiencing a boom in intra-regional trade prompting improvements in various sea ports and maritime routes in the region.

“The Subic Freeport Zone is bustling with activity from various logistics and trading firms and we project growth will continue due to the infrastructure program of the administration,” said SBITC president Roberto Locsin.

The National Government has allocated P500 million through the General Appropriations Act to refurbish the piers and wharves in the Subic Bay Freeport zone 4.

SBMA chairperson and administrator, Wilma Eisma, also inked strategic tie-ups with major US ports for Subic’s expansion and business plans this 2018.

Port expansion is seen as a priority by SBMA in order to make Subic a global maritime trade player. In response to the growing demands of international trade, the SBMA plans to improve local infrastructures and develop industrial zones while increasing port capacity through national funding.

SBMA has set a target to fully develop the Subic Bay Freeport Zone by 2022.

“Our priority is to make Subic a more open and competitive Freeport in international trade. With additional investment prospects in the works, Subic Bay is moving forward with positive momentum,” said Eisma.

Last year, SBITC launched the container freight station (CFS) which is envisioned to serve as a regional distribution center (RDC). Locsin calls it the one and only on-dock warehouse among the ports in Region III.

Just recently, SBITC also opened a container barge service spurring inter-island trade with Cebu and Cagayan de Oro. The service connects Subic to Bacolod, Iloilo, Samar, and Leyte through the Cebu port, while the Cagayan de Oro port connects Subic to the whole island of Mindanao. The barge service is expected to open more opportunities for shippers around the country to connect with international trade through the Subic port.

SBITC also commended the partnership between SBMA and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) to integrate their respective plans for the Subic-Clark economic corridor which is expected to result in significant investments for the Philippines.

“2018 will be an exciting year for the Subic Bay Freeport Zone as various international firms have recognized the potential of Subic Bay as a strategic gateway in the Asian market. With cautious optimism, SBITC will continue to be a progressive partner for economic prosperity through managing our ports,” Locsin said.

SBITC, an ICTSI company, is a leader in global port management due to its fast, reliable, and cost-efficient system implemented to its ports in the Subic Bay Freeport Area. The company manages the New Container Compound Terminals 1 and 2 as part of SBMA’s port development master plan to make Subic Bay the premier trading hub in Southeast Asia.

Source: Manila Bulletin

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