New operator earmarks P7 billion to modernize North Harbor

MANILA, Philippines - Manila North Harbour Port Inc. (MNHPI), the joint venture company between Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and Harbour Centre Port Terminal Inc. (HCPTI), is spending around P7 billion over the next six years for the modernization of North Harbor, the country’s busiest port.

MNHPI president and CEO Mikee Romero also announced a 10 percent reduction on all tariffs imposed at the port, as he challenged shipping lines to lower their passenger and cargo fees by the same amount.

Romero said aside from the P700 million infusion from MPIC and HCPTI, MNHPI plans to raise the P7 billion needed from equity, project finance, and tapping available port infrastructure fund, including one with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) for domestic shipping funds, as well as international facilities.

“We may even do a public offering for MNHPI within three years if there is still a need,” he added.

HCPTI itself is planning to go public, even as it is preparing itself to become an international port operator, Romero also said. HCPTI has just participated in a pre-bidding conference for the operation of the Guam Port and is looking at partnering with MPIC to operate a port in Indonesia owned by businessman Anthoni Salim, the chairman of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Corp., the parent company of MPIC.

In addition to Guam and Indonesia, HCPTI is also looking at bidding for the operation of a government port in China, as well as a privately owned port in Russia.

The consortium of MPIC and HCTI earlier bagged the 25-year contract to operate and rehabilitate Manila North Harbor with their winning P14.5-billion bid, paving the way for the privatization of the dilapidated and antiquated domestic passenger and cargo port. About 60 percent of the contract price will be spent for infrastructure-related expenses.

Romero revealed that they are inviting the Port of Singapore and  the Hong Kong government to help design the North Harbor port masterplan. “We will conduct an international bidding for the design, in line with our bid for the port to be world-class,” he said.

Meanwhile, Romero pointed out that the reduced tariffs at the North Harbor can be reflected through reduced cost of inter-island passenger tickets and cargo rates by the shipping lines.” “They (shipping lines) should be doing that now to cascade the advantage they enjoy,” he said.

MNHPI formally took over Manila North Harbor last April 12 and has since then voluntarily released  P100 million as advance payment of port workers’ past service benefits, paid P42 million to  the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) for the first quarter of 2010, made an early delivery of 159 units of port equipment which is 30 percent more than the commitment made under the contract with PPA, and absorbed 1,000 port workers, as it prepares to hire 5,000 to 10,000 more workers for the project. 

“We are right on schedule with our commitments, based on the terms of reference in the MNHPI-PPA contract including other  specifics to pursue our vision outlined under the North Harbor Modernization Masterplan,” Romero said.

He emphasized that the public can look forward to a safe, modern and passenger-friendly terminal at the port within the next two years. At present, North Harbor services two million domestic passengers per year and around 800,000 twenty-feet equivalent units (TEUs) of containers annually.

 “The port’s existing finger piers are pre-war designs. Much advancement has taken place in design, with the efficient use of powerful cranes that can move containers on longer paths. We will soon have that,” he said.

The first phase of the modernization program involves the redesign of the 10-pier port into a three- terminal port with much wider beds that would, all together, enable the port to improve its rate of handling containers, from the five containers per hour to 28 containers per hour. From 1.5 million TEUs capacity, MNHPI will increase the capacity to five million containers a year. “This reflects more than 500 percent increase in productivity for the port, and renders substantial savings for shipping companies,” Romero said.

The 25-year North Harbor modernization program includes pier rehabilitation, dredging of port waterways, computerization, introduction of new cargo handling equipment and construction of a modern passenger terminal.