ATI breaks ground for P1.3-B car storage facility

MANILA, Philippines -  Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) recently broke ground for a P1.3 billion multilevel car storage facility at the Batangas Port.

In a statement yesterday, ATI said NW Steel Industries and DCCD Engineering Corp. are constructing the facility.

The facility is being built over a two-hectare space adjacent to the Roll-on/Roll-off berths of Batangas Port, making it a strategic staging area for transporting imported vehicles to the Visayas and Mindanao.

Phase 1 of the car storage facility is expected to come online in November this year.

The second phase, meanwhile, would be completed by the middle of next year.

ATI is investing in the five-story facility given the growing demand for imported vehicles.

Through the facility, ATI expects the Batangas Port to be able to handle over 7,000 completely-built units (CBUs) at any single time.

Last year, the Batangas Port handled over 200,000 CBUs, the highest throughput in a single year.

The vehicles handled by the port represent majority of the country’s total car sales last year.

Net earnings of ATI reached P1.91 billion last year, up eight percent from the P1.77 billion in 2015.