PNoy to support shipbuilding industry

CEBU, Philippines - With the Philippines as the fourth largest shipbuilding country in the world, President Benigno Aquino III vowed to continuously support the industry and make it easier for local and foreign companies to build ships in the country.

An industry player, on the other hand, hoped that the Aquino administration would consider having modern, locally-produced ships to effectively protect the Philippine shores.

Aquino had his first visit in Cebu for this year yesterday.

He graced the grand opening of Austal and Philippines Shipyard Operations at the West Cebu Industrial Park in Balamban.

He said that as the country welcomes another growth driver of the shipbuilding sector, Austal, as a growing company, has already contributed and will further accelerate the development of the industry along with other companies in the years ahead.

“We are not content with being the fourth, third, or second bet at anything. On the straight path, we aspire to excellence, to bettering ourselves and we will definitely get there. This is only the beginning and in the coming years, the Filipino worker and the Philippines will only get better,” he said.

In 2011, the ship exports reached $638 million that accounted a 57.9-percent increase from the previous year.

Around 45,000 Filipinos have also earned a living from shipbuilding companies.

Austal is a global defense prime contractor that designs, constructs and maintains revolutionary naval platforms.

As a global strategy to regionalize its manufacturing base specifically for commercial vessel production and regain competitiveness, the company has invested US$15 million to develop a world-class, high-technology manufacturing operation in Cebu.

It has recently finished the construction of its first Philippine-built vessel for export which is the world-first trimaran design for the European wind farm market and in October this year, it is expected to complete a 79-meter aluminum catamaran ferry, which is considered as the largest ferry to be built in the country.

With another three wind farm vessels to follow, Aquino expressed optimism that the foreign company intends to stay and further expand its operations in the Philippines that will help generate US$70 million in export income and provide more employment opportunities for Filipinos with the demand for labor.

“Our government will not betray your trust and neither will our people. You saw the skills and natural talent of the Filipino worker. More than that, you bet on their abilities and I can say with certainty, you made the right choice. If you treat them right, Filipinos will not only perform their duties well, they will take it upon themselves to propel your company to even greater heights,” he said.

To provide highly-skilled Filipino workforce, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority has certified around 95,000 welders in its registry last year.

Meanwhile, Austal Philippines Shipyard Operations President and General Manager Joey Turano said that the company perceived the Philippines as the potential key production hub within the Region to support the rapid development in the shipbuilding industry.

He further commended the impressive skills and experience of Filipinos to build state-of-the-art and world-class vessels.

To date, Austal employs approximately 4,000 people globally of which 300 Filipino workers are employed for its production facility in Balamban.

He added that the company looks forward to build and support more ships to be used by Filipinos themselves, “effectively protecting the shores, ferrying people in safety and comfort and transporting cargo reliably and efficiently.”

Also, Austal Chief Financial Officer Greg Jason described the Philippine shipyard as vitally important to the company’s overall business.

“We commenced a search and quickly identified Philippines as our preferred location. We found a business-friendly country with a structured approach to foreign investment through PEZA. So, we bought the shipyard facilities in November 2011 and set about creating a shipyard that could produce first-class, technically-advanced ships for customers worldwide,” he said.

Aside from the shipbuilding industry, the two-way trade of both countries has paved the way to more than 200 Australian companies established in the Philippines that range various sectors such as engineering, construction, banking, mining, business process outsourcing and education. —with Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/MBG (FREEMAN)