Harbour Centre faces challenger for Subic port

Port operator Asian Terminals has expressed interest in bidding for an exclusive Subic port concession, an official of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said.

Asian Terminals purchased last week a copy of the terms of reference (TOR) to challenge Harbour Centre Port Terminal's unsolicited bid for a joint venture contract with the SBMA to develop and manage the naval supply depot at the free port, SBMA legal department manager Von Rodriguez told BusinessWorld.

Back in February, SBMA formally accepted Harbour Centre's bid for the 17-hectare multipurpose terminal. It went on to open a Swiss challenge, inviting other firms to submit counter-proposals.

"As of now, Asian Terminals is the only one that has purchased the TOR. It shows that at least someone is interested to invest other than Harbour Centre," Rodriguez said.

A spokesman for Asian Terminals was unable to confirm this, however, saying he was not familiar with the deal.

The auction has earned the ire of existing cargo operators in Subic, with some accusing the SBMA of tilting the process in favour of Harbour Centre.

One of them, Amerasia International Terminal Services, has refused to participate in the Swiss challenge because it claims this move might forfeit its existing 25-year lease at the free port.

The firm has threatened to sue the free port unless its demands are met.

Rodriguez confirmed that neither Amerasia International nor any of the other existing cargo operators have purchased TORs for the Swiss challenge.

Asian Terminals will have to offer a bid higher than Harbour Centre's commitment to remit 15 to 20 percent of annual port revenues on top of a promise to pay a guaranteed revenue of $32 million to the SBMA for a 25-year period.

Under bidding rules, a challenger can only win the contract if Harbour Centre – the original proponent – cannot match the highest counter-proposal.

Asian Terminals already operates at the Manila South Harbour which occupies five piers and has an annual capacity of 850,000 containers. It also operates at the Port of Batangas, the Mariveles Grain Terminal, and the Port of General Santos.

(Source: Cargo News Asia)