The Taiwan International Port Corp (TIPC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Subic Bay Maritime Authority (SBMA) in the Philippines on Monday on the transit or transfer goods at Kaohsiung Port.
The Philippines has seen phenomenal economic growth in recent years and the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, with 15 piers, is a focus for economic development by the Philippine government as it is close to Clark International Airport and the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, all of which makes Subic Bay a valuable investment target, state-run TIPC said.
Huang Yi-ming (黃一民), senior supervisor of TIPC’s Kaohsiung branch, said the Subic Bay Freeport Zone houses 1,300 companies from around the world, including Taiwanese firms Wistron Corp, Hitachi Taiwan and Tong Lung Metal Industry Co.
These companies need logistics warehouses, and the partnership agreement between the two ports could motivate more manufacturers in the zone to consolidate their products at Kaohsiung Port before shipping them to the US, elsewhere in Asia and to other nations, he said.
Subic Bay has seen 50 percent growth in cargo handled since 2013, and the SBMA has forecast growth of 30 percent this year, he said.
STBA plans to build new piers to accommodate more container ships and TIPC would assist manufacturers in investing in the construction of piers, he said.
The Philippines does not have a well-developed long-distance freight shipping business, TIPC spokesperson Stephen Liu (劉詩宗) said.
“The long-distance shipping business, particularly to the North America, has been Kaohsiung Port’s strong suit. Through Kaohsiung, one can also go on to ports in China,” he said.
Compared with ports in Hong Kong and Singapore, Kaohsiung offers competitive rates for transit goods containers, Liu said, adding that the exchange between the seaports would draw more investments in both seaports.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its