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.
INFRASTRUCTURE: Work on the second segment, from Kaohsiung to Pingtung, is expected to begin in 2028 and be completed by 2039, the railway bureau said Planned high-speed rail (HSR) extensions would blanket Taiwan proper in four 90-minute commute blocs to facilitate regional economic and livelihood integration, Railway Bureau Deputy Director-General Yang Cheng-chun (楊正君) said in an interview published yesterday. A project to extend the high-speed rail from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝) is the first part of the bureau’s greater plan to expand rail coverage, he told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). The bureau’s long-term plan is to build a loop to circle Taiwan proper that would consist of four sections running from Taipei to Hualien, Hualien to
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
The 2025 Kaohsiung Wonderland–Winter Amusement Park event has teamed up with the Japanese manga series Chiikawa this year for its opening at Love River Bay yesterday, attracting more than 10,000 visitors, the city government said. Following the success of the “2024 Kaohsiung Wonderland” collaboration with a giant inflatable yellow duck installation designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, this year the Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau collaborated with Chiikawa by Japanese illustrator Nagano to present two giant inflatable characters. Two inflatable floats — the main character, Chiikwa, a white bear-like creature with round ears, and Hachiware, a white cat with a blue-tipped tail