Aboitiz Construction Inc. completed the expansion of shipbuilding facilities of Austal Philippines, which contracted the Cebu-based company to design and build six assembly bays including the recently-inaugurated John Rothwell Assembly Bay, all based in Austal’s shipyard in Balamban, Cebu.
Aboitiz Construction’s work covered Bays 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10. The expanded facility aims to meet the growing demand for commercial and defense vessels, including the manufacture of large, high-speed aluminum passenger and vehicle passenger ferries.
The John Rothwell Assembly Bay is an impressive structure measuring 120 meters long, 43 meters wide, and 41 meters tall. It is designed to accommodate large vessel projects for hull assembly, final outfitting, and painting capacity.
“Through this project, Aboitiz Construction has once again proven our capability to provide quality design and build services that meet the standards of our international shipbuilder clients. We do not only build but our capability today includes designing and developing heavy industrial installations,” said Aboitiz Construction president and chief operating officer Alberto Ignacio.
“With this, we also fulfill our brand promise of advancing business and communities where we helped our client to increase their production and at the same time, created the effect of generating hundreds of local jobs while stimulating the local economy,” he added.
Austal president Wayne Murray was pleased with the collaboration of Austal Philippines and Filipino contractors.
“Our Balamban shipyard is a showpiece and is probably the most modern of its kind here in Asia and Aboitiz Construction helped us build this. Here, we bring together Austal’s most advanced maritime technologies and the capabilities of our Filipino colleagues. We are happy about the work that we have done here together and we are looking forward to continuing this good working relationship in our future projects,” Murray said.