The Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) has started to lay grounds for the establishment and development of a shipbuilding and ship-repair industry for the Asia-Pacific, which is a long-time dream not only of the agency but the entire country.
To complement this industry, Marina is also looking at developing first the logistics and transshipment hub of the country which will be later on integrated to the shipbuilding and ship-repair industry.
Marina has been pushing for the modernization of the country’s shipbuilding industry in compliance with the Executive Order No. 588 or “Strengthening the Philippine ship building and ship repair sector and instituting measures to promote its growth and development.”
Marina Administrator Emerson Lorenzo said his plan really is to lay the foundation for the country to have a fully integrated maritime services and logistics hub that could compete with the rest of the world.
According to Lorenzo the maritime hub could be comparable to Singapore or even better claiming the country is good in shipbuilding and ship repairs.
Initially, to attract private capital to invest in the shipping industry, government will create a healthy and competitive investment and operating environment and provide incentives for the continued growth of the shipbuilding and ship repair. This will encourage the improvement and upgrading of the existing domestic merchant marine fleet and Filipino crew to meet international standards and ensure the continued viability of domestic shipping operations.
As of the moment, the Philippines boast of two world-class shipbuilding and ship-repair service providers based in the country such as Hanjin Heavy Industries (HHI) in Subic Bay and Tsuneishi Heavy Industries (THI) in Cebu.