The Bureau of Customs–Port of Batangas is betting big on the expansion of the South Luzon Container Terminal (SLCT), framing it as a transformative play for Southern Luzon’s trade corridor.
BOC District Collector Carmelita M. Talusan convened officials from Bauan International Port Inc. and Laguna Gateway Inland Container Terminal at a meeting last week to assess progress on the terminal’s multi-phase expansion in Bauan, Batangas.
Construction began in the third quarter of 2025. Phase 1 is slated for completion by end-2027, with full operations targeted by 2028.
Once delivered, SLCT will expand from 22 hectares to 56.21 hectares and lift annual capacity beyond 2 million TEUs — positioning it as the country’s second-largest and most technologically advanced container terminal.
The numbers matter. Just 8.6 kilometers from the Port of Batangas, the expanded facility is engineered to accelerate cargo flows across CALABARZON, ease chronic congestion at Metro Manila ports, and anchor a more balanced national port network.
For Talusan, the project is more than infrastructure. It is a structural pivot toward sustainable port development and higher operational efficiency in Batangas province, a region increasingly central to manufacturing, exports, and domestic distribution.
The initiative dovetails with the modernization drive of Customs Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno, sharpening trade facilitation reforms and stakeholder coordination.
If timelines hold, SLCT’s expansion could redraw Southern Luzon’s logistics map, shifting gravity southward and redefining how goods move through the Philippine archipelago.
