Philippines Plans New Ro-Ro Terminal

The Philippines Department of Transportation (DOTr) is studying a proposal to develop a common-user barge and ro-ro terminal in the province of Cavite, Philippines.

DOTr says that the proposal, submitted by International Container Terminal Services, is in line with the agency’s proposed national transport plan to move goods through nautical highways more efficiently. 

The Cavite Gateway Terminal (CGT) will support government initiatives to decongest Manila’s streets by reducing truck traffic on roads around the metropolitan area. CGT will be located within a six-hectare property in Tanza, Cavite. It will have a level of integration with other major Luzon port facilities for more cost-effective and time-bound access to the Cavite market for both inbound and outbound cargo. 

Cavite was identified as the prime location for such a project primarily because of the province’s high economic density. In addition to the Cavite Export Processing Zone, which houses over 400 actively operating companies, there are multiple areas of planned development within Cavite that justify investment in a barge and ro-ro terminal that will cost upwards of $30 million. 

Phase 1 of CGT’s development will support a throughput of 115,000 TEUs per year. The net effect of transshipping cargo from Manila’s ports to Cavite via barge and ro-ro equates to approximately 140,000 fewer truck trips on city roads on an annual basis. The terminal will also present new employment opportunities, both direct and indirect, for the provincial labor pool. Succeeding phases of CGT will support a substantial increase in capacity and will be built to account for projected annual volume increases in the Cavite market.