Ports congestion-free ahead of holidays

THE Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said ports are currently congestion-free ahead of the end-of-year holidays, when trade activity typically picks up.

PPA General Manager Jay Daniel R. Santiago said the three ports in Manila, — the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), the Manila South Harbor (MSH) and the Manila North Port (MNP) are not expecting throughput to be slowed by congestion.

“As of the moment, the combined yard utilization at the two international Manila ports MICT and MSH is at 60.12% or about 20% below the optimum level of 80%... The premier domestic terminal, the MNP, has a yard utilization rate of 43.40%, giving the port enough elbow room for anticipated increase in demand at this point,” Mr. Santiago said in a statement.

The agency said that the security measures to be implemented for the ASEAN meetings in midNovember are not expected to significantly congest the Manila ports, even with anticipated disruptions in vessel and transport delivery movements.

However, it is advising cargo owners to plan ahead the withdrawal and deposit of shipments to and from the ports to avoid any commercial delays due to the ASEAN meetings.

The decision of the Bureau of Customs to temporarily shut down its Green Lane operations as well as subjecting a majority of imported cargo to inspection is also not expected to disrupt the flow of goods.

This year, the PPA is anticipating cargo volume growth of about 5-7%, upgrading a previous forecast of flat growth made early this year. — Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo