ICTSI to build $800 million terminal in Batangas

MANILA, Philippines — International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), the listed ports giant led by tycoon Enrique Razon, has no desire of slowing down its domestic expansion, as it will invest $800 million to build a container terminal in Batangas.

ICTSI is building the facility in Bauan, Batangas, with civil works set to commence in the first quarter of 2025.

The operator of multiple ports locally and abroad said the Bauan facility is set to become the largest private marine terminal investment in the Philippines.

Upon completion, ICTSI’s Batangas facility will be equipped with up to 900 meters of quay length and at least eight ship-to-shore gantry cranes for an estimated capacity of around two million TEUs per year. ICTSI will finish the first berth of the infrastructure by the end of 2027.

ICTSI believes the terminal will boost logistics activities in Southern Tagalog, creating jobs and growing the economy in the process.

Further, the company anticipates that the infrastructure will play a crucial role in handling marine needs for renewable energy transition.

On the business viability of the terminal, ICTSI decided to locate it in Bauan given its proximity to nearby expressways, making it accessible to logistics players.

The terminal can be accessed through the diversion road to Bauan from the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road, or STAR Tollway, operated by San Miguel Corp. (SMC).

SMC and Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. also signed last year a P72-billion agreement to put up the Cavite-Batangas Expressway and the Nasugbu-Bauan Expressway, and ICTSI is banking on these developments to enhance connectivity to its new project.

ICTSI executive vice president Christian Gonzalez said the goal for the new facility in Bauan is to balance logistics activities between Metro Manila and Southern Tagalog. The infrastructure, in its full capacity, will be the second biggest of its kind, next to the Manila International Container Terminal.

In April, ICTSI received regulatory approval to push through with the P11-billion upgrade of the Visayas Container Terminal (VCT), formerly the Iloilo Commercial Port Complex. The VCT can handle around 100,000 TEUs every year.

For 2024, ICTSI is raising capital expenditures by a third to $450 million, from $336.32 million in 2023, to finance the delivery of its expansion projects.

ICTSI serves as one of the biggest port operators in the world, building and operating terminals in six continents with intent to further expand.