Transpo Summit set Apr 23

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s major ports, logistics and import/export enterprises will hold a Transport Summit on April 23 at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza to discuss problems and prospects for the local cargo industry, the transport sector and allied industries.

Organized by the Philippine International Seafreight Forwarders Association (PISFA) and PortCalls, Transport Summit 2014 will have for its theme, “Removing Barriers in Cargo Transportation and Customs”.  It aims to examine cargo industry prospects amid the country’s economic growth, alternative transport solutions to the Manila truck ban, and new Customs processes in support of greater trade facilitation.

A highlight of the summit will be a panel discussion between government and private sector representatives on issues and government policies affecting the freight industry. At the end of the summit, a group will draft a private sector declaration identifying solutions to industry concerns, which will later be submitted to concerned government agencies for their action.

Socio-economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, Customs commissioner John Sevilla and other port and economic experts will address the summit, along with Sean Perez, vice president of Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI).

Perez will deliver a presentation titled “Batangas Port: Bridging the Calabarzon Connection”, citing the major strides of Batangas Port as the best shipping alternative for the Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon growth region.

ATI operates the Batangas Container Terminal (BCT), which has an annual capacity of 350,000 twenty-equivalent units. South Luzon’s most modern container terminal is equipped with two ship-to-shore cranes, four rubber-tired gantries and other modern cargo stacking equipment, enabling it to handle the projected cargo volume of Calabarzon at 300,000 TEUs annually.

Located within 60 kilometers from the majority of Calabarzon business hubs, BCT is able to provide fast processing of shipments from lodging of entries, payment of duties and tariffs to outright release of cargoes made possible through the seamlessly integrated port processes, systems and online transactions between ATI, the Bureau of Customs and the Philippine Ports Authority.

For information on the summit, email [email protected].