Singapore invests in Cebu shipbuilding

Cebu’s shipbuilding industry has attracted two Singaporean firms which are planning to invest about $400 million in the fast-growing industry, a Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) official said.

Marina Administrator Vicente Suazo said he will facilitate the meetings between the Singaporean investors and the National Maritime Leasing Corp. (NMLC) and the Philippine Import-Export Credit Agency (Philexim). Suazo declined to name the two Singaporean firms, but said one firm, will invest $300 million and the other $100 million.

The shipping and repair industries in Cebu are dominated by Keppel Cebu Shipyard and Engineering Works Inc., a Singaporean company; and Tsuneishi Heavy Industries, a Filipino-Japanese joint venture.

Keppel Cebu Shipyard and Engineering Works is into ship repair and shipbuilding. Last September it carried out the keel laying for two large tugs for Singapore. In Balamban, Cebu, Tsuneishi Heavy industries builds bulk carriers and cargo ships for export.

Suazo said that most shipyards in the country have been downgraded in the last 30 years because their owners lacked the capital to improve their facilities.