PPA dismisses fears of new port congestion

The government has allayed fears of a recurrence of congestion at the ports of Manila that slowed down trade and contributed to a weak 6.1 percent growth last year.

Port regulator Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) made the assurance of enough capacity to handle surges in cargo volume in the second half of the year to quell fears by some big business firms in the country of a possible recurrence of the 2014 port congestion starting August or September as shipments start to surge for the holiday season.

The port congestion that hit the Manila ports last year had been blamed as a big factor that contributed to the weak GDP growth last year of 6.1 percent, which was even lower than the low-end port of the government’s GDP growth last year.

PPA said that the two international ports in Manila have reached optimum ideal capacity that makes them ready for the anticipated surge in activity starting the holiday season this year up to next year’s national elections.

In a statement, the PPA said the Manila South Harbor and Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) are operating even better prior to the preport congestion level in February, 2014.

PPA general manager Atty. Juan Sta. Ana said the two Manila ports are more than ready to handle the anticipated rise in cargo volume in the coming months brought about by the Christmas season and the upcoming national elections.

Yard utilization at South Harbor and MICT is now at 55 percent to 59 percent, or about 44,000 to 48,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), according to Sta. Ana.

He added port productivity “has really gone up to all-time highs resulting in faster turnaround time for cargoes and vessels to and from the port.”

Industry figures on utilization in the Port of Manila was even better with the MICT utilization down to 51 percent.

The easing situation at the ports came despite volume in the Port of Manila posting a double-digit growth.

Port operators have also taken steps to prevent backlogs at the ports. The MICT engaged 1 Stop of Australia to implement TABS or Terminal Appointment Booking System which has targeted September for the system’s first run.

The pullout of containers had also been stepped up as a result of a collaboration among consignees, the Bureau of Customs (BOC), and the International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI). Less storage resulted in more yard space at the ports.

Ports suffered from massive backlogs after the Manila city government imposed a daytime truck ban beginning late February, 2014.

Effects of the congestion were felt long after the ban was temporarily lifted in September.

Sta. Ana said measures put in place by government, terminal operators, and stakeholders have contributed in preparing the two ports for the upcoming peak season.

“While we anticipate some glitches, we can easily address it particularly now that we have almost zero vessels waiting at anchorage and the number of cargoes coming out of our gates has been steady,” Sta. Ana said.

“Barring any major policies implemented outside the ports, we will never see another scenario just like last year where port operations really hit rock bottom,” the PPA chief assured.

In the first four months of 2015, total cargo volume handled by PPA ports reached 66.6 million metric tons (mmt), 6.334% higher than the 62.63 mmt posted in the same period last year.

Domestic cargoes registered a 6.87% hike to 27.75 mmt from 25.97 mmt last year. Foreign cargo inched up 5.97% to 38.85 mmt from 36.66 mmt a year ago. Imports rose 7.69% to 22.21 mmt from 20.63 mmt in 2014, while exports increased 3.75% to 16.63 mmt compared to 16.03 mmt posted in 2014.

Among the Manila ports, MICT continued to handle the largest volume of foreign boxes with 650,629 TEUs, followed by South Harbor with 280,736 TEUs.

North Harbor handled the most domestic containerized cargoes.

Sta. Ana added the container booking system to be implemented by operators of the two Manila ports will prevent trucks without any port transaction from crowding the port and slowing down terminal operations.

PPA added the number of empty containers had dropped substantially due to the cooperation between terminal operators and shipping lines in managing the flow of empty containers.

Sta. Ana said the movement of import and export containers “will continue to improve as time goes by” as stakeholders adjust to the different policies imposed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs.