PPA to decongest Manila ports

MANILA, Philippines — State-run Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has vowed to free up Manila ports from congestion to support the recovery of supply chains.

In a statement, PPA said the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) would strengthen its position as the premier port in the Philippines.

The PPA said the MICT is set to widen its capacity by six percent to 3.5 million total equivalent units from 3.3 million TEUs to put up with the recovery of trade here and abroad.

Further, the PPA wants the Cavite Gateway Terminal (CGT), owned by Razon-led International Container Terminal Services Inc., maximized for ease of transport of shipments between Manila and Cavite.

The CGT can be accessed via a 10-kilometer coastline that bypasses road traffic.

The PPA asked logistics firms to use the CGT to reduce road traffic along the cargo truck trade route from North Harbor to Southern Tagalog. Cavite, where CGT is situated, hosts some of the largest multinationals in the country, mostly manufacturing and export players.

The six-hectare CGT can handle up to 115,000 TEUs every year, offering storage and transport services to exporters and processors located in Cavite economic zones.

On the other hand, the PPA said the North Port Passenger Terminal of the Manila North Harbor would be upgraded by the Manila North Harbor Port Inc. to improve traveler comfort and convenience.

Prior to the pandemic, the terminal facilitates an average of 4.5 million passengers yearly.

The Department of Transportation expects the PPA to deliver on these commitments in line with Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista’s push for safe and world-class transport services.

The PPA hopes the improvements will decongest Manila ports in time for the holidays.

As of June, cargo throughput facilitated by the PPA slid by one percent to 125.49 million metric tons, from 127.34 MMT a year ago. Export volume dipped by 14 percent, dragging foreign cargo by six percent.

Containerized cargo picked up by three percent to 3.73 million TEUs, boosted by the six percent growth in imported boxes, but tempered by the two percent decline in domestic volume.

Passenger volume, on the other hand, more than doubled in the six months to June with most of the Philippines kept under Alert Level 1.