ICTSI spending $130 million for fresh Subic contract

MANILA, Philippines — Port giant International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) has received an extension to its concession to operate two terminals at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone and planned to spend $130 million for their upgrade.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, ICTSI said it has received approval from the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) to extend its concession in Subic.

SBMA, which manages the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, authorized ICTSI subsidiaries Subic Bay International Terminals Corp. (SBITC) and ICTSI Subic Inc. (ISI) to extend the management of the New Container Terminals (NCT) 1 and 2 until 2058.

SBITC and ISI, collectively known as Subic Bay International Terminals, will invest as much as $130 million for the extended contract. The Subic Bay International Terminals have lined up an investment and development plan to improve NCT 1 and 2.

The plan involves the acquisition of additional equipment to scale up NCT 1 and 2’s capabilities and efficiency. It also covers the construction of more infrastructure needed by both terminals.

Given this, the plan seeks to raise NCT 1 and 2’s combined annual capacity by two-thirds to one million TEUs, from 600,000 TEUs, during the concession.

The Subic Bay International Terminals play an important role in handling trade for the northern regions of Luzon, with linkage to some of the busiest national highways and shipping routes.

The terminals also support logistics requirements of businesses in Central Luzon, particularly in Subic and Clark, as well as nearby provinces Bataan, La Union, Pampanga and Tarlac.

Locally, ICTSI is on the lookout for expansion opportunities to put up new projects and upgrade existing ones. In Luzon, the company is building the $800-million Luzon International Container Terminal (LICT), set to become the country’s second largest of its kind.

ICTSI aims to deliver the first phase of the project by 2027, with the entirety done by 2028. The LICT is designed to have a capacity of two million TEUs annually.

For 2025, ICTSI is ready to invest $580 million for capital expenditures, of which 40 percent, or $231.98 million, has been used up as of June.

ICTSI is one of the world’s largest port players in the 50,000 to 3.5 million TEU per year band, with terminals across six continents and more in the pipeline.