Iloilo is opening its doors to the global market with the arrival of the first international container line from Singapore at the Iloilo Commercial Port Complex in Barangay Loboc in Lapuz district on Saturday, July 22.

“As an international container line, we are basically connecting Iloilo to the rest of the world; this is the farm-to-market road by the seas for Iloilo,” Marlon Isah de Guzman, general manager of the Regional Container Lines, an international container line based in Thailand and Singapore, said.

Speaking before participants of the “Usapang Exports” of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) at the Park Inn by Radisson Hotel here, de Guzman said Singapore is considered the biggest transshipment hub in the world.

Export and import businesses from Iloilo can connect to 600 port potential markets via Singapore rather than going through domestic carriers via Cebu or Manila.

“We are very excited to be here in Iloilo because we are very confident and bullish about Iloilo.

We have seen the growth of Iloilo, it still has potential. We are trying to bridge that gap by bringing in our vessel here,” he said in a follow-up interview.

During their maiden voyage, they brought 50 containers of rice from Vietnam.

“The vessel is already at anchorage. It is just waiting for the berthing schedule. We are excited about it,” he added.

De Guzman said they are also looking for other items like construction materials to bring to Iloilo because of the construction boom here.

“With the construction booming, materials from China, from Thailand could go in,” he added.

They will be traveling to Iloilo every two weeks. From Singapore, the container line will first dock at the Iloilo Port then move to Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, and Zamboanga and back to Singapore.

De Guzman said the travel time takes around four to five days from Singapore to Iloilo, thus impacting the transportation rate and the cost of goods.

Without direct transportation, they have to pass via Manila or Cebu, which will take five days of travel, and another three to four days going to Iloilo if there is available transportation.

The discussion for their entry to Iloilo started three years ago with the help of the business sector, the DTI, Local Economic Development and Investment Promotion (LEDIP) Office, and the Office of the Iloilo City Mayor.

LEDIP head Velma Jane Lao, in a separate interview, said the city government was fully committed to supporting the initiative because it would benefit mostly agricultural products of local farmers as well as processed foods.

Lao said their coming in would also mean lower cost of goods as the transport cost would also be reduced.

“It will open opportunities. Our businesses will be pressured to produce for the export market unlike before when they are in a wait-and-see situation,” she added.Perla Lena/PNA

Photo by RMN-Iloilo