PPA: Passenger, container volume up in Q3

THE Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) logged big growth in passenger and container traffic in the third quarter of the year and expects the trend to continue, fueled by easing of travel restrictions.

PPA general manager Jay Daniel Santiago said the agency will further improve the country’s ports in both services and infrastructure. He was reappointed by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and vowed to focus on the digitalization of port operations and management. He replaced PPA officer in charge Francisquiel Mancile. Santiago served as PPA general manager during the Duterte administration and under his new watch, he vowed that the agency will perform its mandate of further developing and effectively operating the country’s ports or port districts.

PPA port statistics showed that passengers who passed through the country’s ports rose by 233.54 percent to 15.71 million from July to September, up from 4.71 million passengers in the same period last year. Container traffic increased by 9.7 percent to 2.03 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the third quarter from 1.85 million TEUs in the same period last year.

Domestic boxes handled at the ports posted 9.47 percent to 759,884 TEUs from 694,142 TEUs, while foreign boxes registered an increase of 10.4 percent to 1.27 million TEUs as against the 1.15 million TEUs handled in the same period last year

Of the total foreign boxes, import volume contributed 650,106 TEUs, while export boxes comprised 629,381TEUs, or an increase of 10.75 percent and 10.08 percent, respectively.

Ship calls went up by 29.9 percent to 119,977 in the third quarter from 92,359 in the same period last year. Domestic ship calls stood at 116,940 during the period, while foreign ship calls were at 3,047.