The Port of Subic said revenues grew 6 percent in 2017 to P1.2 billion from P1.13 billion in 2016 after handling more shipments.
Data showed the volume of containerized cargo handled by the Port of Subic rose 13 percent to 140,938 twenty-foot equivalent units last year from 124,707 TEUs in 2016.
The volume of non-containerized cargo volume dropped 6 percent to 6.63 million metric tons in 2017 from 7 million MT in 2016, while gross registered tonnage slipped 7 percent to 28.45 million GRT from 30.7 million GRT.
Foreign ship calls improved 12 percent to 1,526 in 2017 from 1,365 calls in 2016, while domestic ship calls declined 27 percent to 1,252. Transshipment significantly increased 468 percent to 2,084 from 368.
Both export and import trade value climbed 38 percent and 11 percent, respectively.
Export trade value went up to $2.3 billion from $1.69 billion, while import trade value increased to $1.7 billion from $1.6 billion.
Cargo traffic by land is also expected to spike with the creation of a cargo rail system that will run from Subic to Clark, linking the ports from both agencies.
State-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority plans to build first the component of the P57.6-billion railway project and then its cargo part.
BCDA vice president Jake Bingcang said the project had already passed the economic hurdle rate of the National Economic and Development Authority based on the projected traffic at Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.
BCDA is finalizing a P1-billion loan to support the project which was identified as a Chinese Overseas Development Assistance project.
Bingcang said the project had good economic prospects, after a study showed that transport by rail would be cheaper by half compared to transport by vehicle.