THE SUBIC BAY Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) is extending its free accreditation initiative for container-port business until the end of 2018.
In a statement released on Friday, SBMA chairperson and administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the agency will waive the accreditation fee until Dec. 31 this year amid “positive feedback”.
“[W]e are bringing it back this year to encourage more business to make use of the Port of Subic’s container terminals,” she added.
The free accreditation was supposed to last only until April 13.
The extension will follow the old guidelines, meaning only the first 80 new business entrants and the first 20 accredited entities due for certificate renewal will not need to pay the $200 fee.
SBMA said in the same statement that these firms should bring in at least one container within a month from filing an accreditation certificate to be exempted from the fee.
The entities covered are brokerage firms, freight forwarders, ship agents and those that provide trucking services.
SBMA started the initiative to to help decongest ports in Metro Manila and increase its own port’s utilization rate.
The port’s two new container terminals are managed and operated by Subic Bay International Terminal Corp., which provides on and off-dock marine port cargo and container handling services.
Mr. Eisma said they are also targeting small and medium enterprises in this program. — AGAM

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