SUBIC BAYFREEPORT — The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) is keen on positioning its port to become the next playground for Royal Caribbean cruise ships starting next year.

by: Ruben Veloria /PNA -northboundasia.com

Phot by: express.co.uk

SBMA chairman and administrator Wilma T. Eisma, who met over the weekend with Dr. Zinan Liu and other officials of Royal Caribbean International (RCI), on Tuesday said that the Subic community is hoping to generate more investments in the growing cruise ship tourism industry in the Asian region.

“We hope that Subic would be the next cruise ship playground. And we are very excited over this prospect,” Eisma said, adding that Subic can offer the best tourism facilities and services for cruise passengers and crew, highly memorable and tailored tourism experiences to meet the expectations of the cruise’s clients, and a safe environment that would be very conducive to the cruise business.

The RCI, which is a cruise line brand based in Miami, Florida and owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL), a global cruise vacation company which controls 22 percent of the cruise market worldwide, is said to be scouting for newer attractions for the growing Asian cruise ship market.

Eisma stressed that her administration is positioning Subic as the new Asian destination to meet such growing demand.

During the preliminary meeting with another RCI team headed by Capt. Nikolaos Antalis in November this year, it was noted that because of its gigantic size, Oasis of the Seas could only use the Port of Subic, among the many ports in the Philippines.

The MS Oasis of the Seas is said to provide some of the most modern cruise experiences today with facilities like the Central Park, Boardwalk, Royal Promenade, Pool and Sports Zone, Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center, Entertainment Place, and Youth Zone, which features a surf simulator, cantilevered whirlpools suspended 112 feet above the ocean, and zip line.

The ship can carry over 6,000 passengers and 3,900 crews and officers in its 16 passenger decks.

Eisma also said that the RCI officials were impressed over the potential of the Subic Bay area, noting that it has attractions in culture, history and religion, aside from modern amenities.

Last July, RCCL vice president for New Business Development John Tercek also visited Subic to assess its readiness as a cruise ship destination.

Eisma said Tercek similarly cited the potentials of Subic and advised the SBMA to step up efforts in developing the free port to address the demand.

source:northboundasia.com

Continue Reading

Members of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority’s Law Enforcement Department (SBMA-LED) pin down suspects during a recent simulated hostage rescue operation at the Subic Bay Freeport.

The department exercise, which is held periodically to bring Subic police officers on alert at all times, involved elements from Traffic, Special Weapons and Tactics, and K-9 branches.

Members of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority’s Law Enforcement Department (SBMA-LED) form an assault team during a recent simulated hostage rescue operation at the Subic Bay Freeport.

Source: SubicNewsLink

Continue Reading

MANILA, Philippines – The transformation of Metro Manila’s second airport, Clark International Airport, into a major Asian gateway has started with work finally beginning on a new terminal.

The Clark International Airport Expansion project formally kicked off with a groundbreaking and capsule-laying ceremony at the airport grounds in Pampanga on Wednesday, December 20. It was led by the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA), Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC), and the Clark Development Corporation (CDC).

Spanning around 100,000 square meters, including landside and airside facilities, the new terminal is designed to accommodate an additional 8 million passengers every year and is expected to be completed by 2020.

It is expected to decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminals, as well as spread development in the peripheries.

“It’s quite sad that it took this long. The last 6 or 7 years, things didn’t move. But we forget about the past. That’s water under the bridge, because now we move forward,” BCDA president and CEO Vince Dizon said in a statement on the day of the groundbreaking.

Part of a wider plan for Central Luzon

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade noted that the expansion of the Clark airport is part of a bigger development plan for North and Central Luzon with the new terminal expected to complement other infrastructure projects in the area.

The most prominent of these are the Manila-Clark Railway, Subic-Clark Cargo Railway, and the New Clark City.

“We will connect [the new terminal ] to the Manila-Clark Railway. Not later than January 6, 2018, we will mobilize the construction of the first segment from Tutuban to Malolos, and hopefully we will complete the entire line to Clark before the end of President Duterte’s term,” Tugade said.

The construction of the new terminal is the first hybrid project under the “Build, Build, Build” Infrastructure Program of the Duterte administration.

Under the hybrid model, the government will build the infrastructure using its own funds to ensure fast delivery of the project while auctioning off operations and maintenance to the private sector.

The group of publicly-traded Megawide Construction Corporation and Bangalore-based GMR Infrastructure Limited won the rights to the project with the “lowest calculated bid” of P9.36 billion, lower than government’s originally projected cost of P12.55 billion.

The BCDA is expected to bid out the operations and maintenance of the Clark International Airport to the private sector next year.

Source: Rappler.com

Continue Reading

By Roel Catoto

SURIGAO CITY – An Australian sailor died while floating in the waters off Siargao Island for six days after the boat, he and his two friends are on, capsized, police reports said.

Anthony John Mahoney, 73, of Townsville, Queensland, was reportedly already unconscious when he and his friends were found floating 50 miles off Siargao by two local fishermen 10 a.m. Sunday.

Mahoney and his two friends Lawrence Alered Mallea, 68, also of Queensland and Lionec Peter Ansselin, 74, who is currently residing in Bauang, La Union were attempting to sail from Australia to Subic Bay.

Mallea and Ansselin are now recuperating at the Adela Serra Ty Memorial Medical Center in Tandag City, police said.

PO3 Evelyn Tidula, of the Tandag police, said Jonnifer Piosang and Albert Murillo saw the Australians holding on to a life buoy, waving their hands, while the fishermen were on their way back to Tandag.

The fishermen rescued the three foreigners and brought them to the hospital.

“The victims who were floating in the waters for six days kept holding on to their life buoy,” Tidula said Monday afternoon.

“Unfortunately, Anthony John Mahoney did not make it as he was unconscious at the time they were rescued,” she said.

Tidula said the Australians were sailing from Australia and heading towards Subic Bay aboard a yacht when it capsized due to a hole in the vessel’s lower portion.

“Based on the post-mortem examination, Mahoney died of severe dehydration,” she said, adding that the two survivors are now in stable condition.

Police has no further details yet but it was learned that the survivors would be brought to this city on Tuesday.

Source: Manila Bulletin

Continue Reading

By:  Jonas Reyes

Subic Bay Freeport — Officials of one of the biggest cruise ship liners in the world visited this premier Freeport weekend, gauging the area’s potential in the international tourism scene and finding out that it can compete.

Dr. Zinan Liu, president of the China and North Asia Pacific Region of the Royal Caribbean International, was welcomed by Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairperson and Administrator Wilma Eisma on Saturday during his visit to the Freeport.

Liu, along with Asst. to the President Anna Lian and Director Antonio Muresu, toured the Subic Bay Freeport’s tourist sites including Zoobic Safari, Ocean Adventure and Segara Villas during their two-day stay here.

The tour was not only limited to the Freeport as the entourage also went to the famed Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar which, of course, features a glimpse of the Philippines during its early years.

Liu was impressed over the potential of the area, citing that Subic Freeport should be included in the Philippine itinerary of their cruise tours.

“Three days I’ve seen some ports in the Luzon region and I think it’s very attractive to Chinese. We have only been here for a few hours, and from your presentation, I can already imagine that we can develop a tour suitable and appealing to different age groups,” Liu said.

Source: Manila Bulletin

Continue Reading