MANILA, Philippines — Port operator Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) said its expansion projects at the Manila South Harbor and Batangas ports are in full swing as it works in line with government’s push for infrastructure development.
ATI said it aims to further build its capacity and increase efficiency at the country’s vital trade gateways in a bid to support the growing economy.
The company said it is allotting at least P8 billion for capital expenditures this year as it seeks to deliver better, faster and safer ports and logistics services to the country’s supply-chain.
“In Manila, more cargo storage spaces are coming online with the near completion of Blocks 143 and 145 adjacent to South Harbor’s main container yard and the in-filling of the engineering island basin next to Pier 3,” the company said.
Last month, two brand-new ZPMC ship-to-shore (STS) cranes were delivered at Pier 3, further boosting South Harbor’s capability to handle more cargos and bigger ships with faster vessel turnaround times.
“Completion of the expansion projects, alongside continuous investment in modern systems and technologies, will increase South Harbor’s annual container handling capacity to over 1.4 million TEUS (twenty foot equivalent units) by 2019 from its current yearly throughput of 1.25 million TEUS,” ATI said.
Meanwhile, major development is also taking shape in the Batangas port.
“Civil works are underway to extend the quay length and expand the container yard of Batangas Container Terminal (BCT), which will be followed by the deployment of two additional STS cranes and four more rubber-tired gantry (RTG) cranes within the year,” the company reported.
This will increase BCT’s fleet of STS and RTG cranes to four and eight, respectively, effectively increasing its annual capacity to over 450,000 TEUS.
In addition,the construction of the multilevel car storage facility (MCSF) for completely-built car units (CBU) is also nearing completion.
The five-story MCSF will push Batangas Port’s storage capacity to nearly 13,000 CBUs at any given time, cementing its leadership position as the preferred and biggest car carrier port in the country.
This is expected to be in full operation by the third quarter of this year.
ATI said the expansion of its Batangas port will enable more trade in Southern Luzon, which will help decongest Metro Manila roads, in support of government’s vision for more inclusive countryside growth.
“The series of projects form part of ATI’s long-term investment commitment with government through the Philippine Ports Authority,” the company added.
The company’s P8 billion capex for this year is 74 percent higher than its P4.6 billion capex last year.
In 2017, ATI registered a 30.7 percent increase in its net income to P2.5 billion from P1.9 billion a year earlier.