By Henry Empeño | May 28, 2025

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — Projects to support a multi-modal transportation center in this free port are underway, as the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) sets its sights to woo more trade and investments here with its vision for a green port city.

In a forum that updated investors here with agency initiatives to flex Subic’s logistics capabilities, SBMA officials led by Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño cited various port expansion projects with a total budget of US$878.7 million, as well as a shore power connection project (SPCP) worth P250 million, as among the priorities by the Subic agency in the next three years.

Aliño pointed out that after SBMA enhanced Subic’s logistics facilities with automated systems to streamline cargo movement and enhance efficiency, it has now begun procurement for the SPCP, which would reduce air pollution from berthed ships by 95 percent.

He added that the P233-million state-of-the-art Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) launched in February last year has “significantly improved safety and operational efficiency” in tracking vessels in Subic Bay.

The SBMA has also adopted use of the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA), Electronic Transit Admission Permit System (ETAPS), and Automated Export Documentation System (AEDS) to improve service efficiency in the port of Subic.

Subic, which already boasts of a modern 600,000-TEU container terminal, also sets to refurbish and further develop the 15 piers and wharves built here during the American period, officials said. Plans include integration of the Subic port with the Luzon Economic Corridor via railway.

According to SBMA Senior Deputy Administrator for Port Operations Ronnie Yambao, the SBMA port development program includes the construction of a third container terminal with a capacity of 300,000 TEUs, estimated at US$359 million.

Smaller projects, meanwhile, include a multipurpose terminal at the Redondo Peninsula, at US$162 million; a multipurpose terminal in Lower Mau, for bulk and break-bulk cargoes, at US$182 million; and a dedicated cruise terminal to boost tourism, with an investment of P10.2 billion.

On the shore power project, which is expected to boost Subic’s carbon-neutral bid, Yambao said that Phase 1 development, which would focus on the New Container Terminal, is set to start in 2026 with a budget of P100 million, while Phase 2 covering the Naval Supply Depot and Ship Repair Facility would be implemented in 2027 to 2028, with a budget of P150 million.

Recently, Aliño welcomed into Subic BYD Philippines, which opened its newest branch here on May 19.

He said the opening of a franchise for China’s leading electric vehicle maker further solidifies the agency’s predisposition for green technology.

Aliño also welcomed into Subic this month Ambassador of Spain to the Philippines Miguel Ultray Delgado, who brought with him the Spanish firm Matalyset, a metalworking company founded in 2008. 