ICTSI fasttracks port development

MANILA, Philippines - Port giant International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) is fast-tracking the construction of new yard facilities at the Manila International Container Terminal and at the new inland container depot (ICD) in Laguna in anticipation of the surge in cargo movement during the Christmas season.

ICTSI head for Asia, Pacific and the Sub Continent Christian Gonzalez said the company is speeding up the MICT expansion and inland depot to add more than 20 percent to the existing static yard capacity without impacting traffic patterns.

“Even in its earliest stages of development, the new ICD alone will add new laden, empty, and warehousing capacity to the market, and will deliver a further 250,000 twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) capacity to MICT,” Gonzalez said.

The decision to rush the expansion projects is in anticipation of the 40-percent increase in cargo movements after the Manila City lifted its truck bank, as well as the expected surge in trade with the sustained robust economic growth.

The ICD in Laguna is only one of two 20-hectare properties that ICTSI expects to be available for use in February next year.

 “These plans have been on the drawing board, ready for execution, and we were just waiting for government concurrence.  Now that we have it, and we have the resources, we can move quickly to fast-track these projects,” he added.

Furthermore, Gonzalez said ICTSI also has plans and the resources to build a new berth.

 “A new berth is pivotal for incremental capacity to address economic expansion for many years down the line.  We hope the government will re-visit this plan for a new berth,” he said.

The new MICT yard would be equipped with a minimum of six rubber tired gantries, while an adjacent temporary empty handling area at the MICT would also be put into operation by Nov. 1.

Without any further changes to the road network or additional truck restrictions, the completion of the new yards would raise the overall capacity of the MICT to three million TEUs and Asian Terminal Inc.’s South Harbor to 1.2 million TEUs.

Meanwhile, ICTSI is incorporating rail provisions into the new MICT yard to augment the 21-hectare Laguna ICD ensuring the most seamless transfer of cargo from the Port of Manila to economic zones south of Metro Manila.

Furthermore, the expansion at the MICT and the ICD would be complemented by ICTSI’s plan to raise the capacity of its Subic terminals to establish Subic as Northern and Central Luzon’s next gateway port and not a mere spillover terminal.

ICTSI and partner lines are further connecting Subic to Japan, Singapore, China, and further on, to Europe and the Middle East.

Close to 1.8 million TEUs passed through the MICT last year, representing 72 percent of its total capacity of 2.5 million, while almost 922,000 TEUs went through South Harbor or 77 percent of its 1.2 million capacity.

“Today overall available international container terminal capacity in Manila is 3.7 million TEUs per year against a throughput in 2013 of just over 2.7 million TEUs, highlighting that timely investment by the private sector has kept the demand-supply ratio well in balance,” the report said.

 “The development of new yard and road facilities at MICT, for which foundation work has already been undertaken, will raise annual international terminal capacity to three million TEUs per year at MICT and to 4.2 million TEUs per year overall for the international terminals,” it added.

Meanwhile, Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said on the sidelines of the Philippine Economic Briefing yesterday that he supports the position of Socioeconomic Planning secretary Arsenio Balisacan to develop other ports outside Manila such as Subic and Batangas.

 “Manila ports should not be expanded anymore. Other ports outside Manila should be developed to disperse development,” he added.