Manila ports operating beyond capacities

AFP FILE PHOTO

The Export Development Council (EDC) has urged the government to issue a policy or an executive order that will shift foreign cargoes from the Port of Manila to the Port of Batangas and other newly developed international ports across the country.

“We are promoting the use of ports outside Metro Manila, particularly the International Port of Batangas, for goods moving in and out of South Luzon,” EDC vice chair Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said in a statement yesterday. The proposal is seen to support efforts to decongest the Port of Manila and resolve the issues arising from the new truck ban being implemented in the city of Manila.

The new policy bans eight wheelers and vehicles with a gross weight of above 4,500 kilos from plying Manila’s streets between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. A temporary concession was offered by the city government, thus allowing trucks to ply streets between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. during the next six to eight months.

Ortiz-Luis pointed out that the Port of Manila was operating beyond its capacity. Hence, cargo trucks continued to congest not just the port but also the major thoroughfares of the metropolis. The Manila International Container Terminal has an annual cargo capacity of 1.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) but handled a total capacity of 1.83 million TEUs in 2012. The Manila South Harbor, meanwhile, has an annual cargo capacity of 850,000 TEUs but accommodated 1.01 million TEUs in the same year. In contrast, the Port of Batangas used only 11,000 TEUs or 2.75 percent of its annual cargo capacity of 400,000 TEUs.

“We urge the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to work on a feasible plan and timetable to start transferring the shipment of cargoes to the Port of Batangas and other international ports in the country. This plan can start by putting the proper equipment and people in these ports,” Ortiz-Luis said.

“Likewise, we also expect to address related issues and concerns that hamper the transfer to these ports, particularly the pestering of certain groups in the local government units asking for unnecessary fees from truckers,” he added.

In the meantime, the EDC is expecting the PPA to open up two roads at the back of the Department of Public Works and Highways building to be used as parking lot for the cargo trucks.

“To further ease the congestion in the Port of Manila, we also suggest that the Bureau of Customs get rid of the unnecessary piles of cargo containers in its yards,” Ortiz-Luis said.

He added that since ports operate on a 24/7 basis or without interruption regardless of time or day, government agencies that operate in the port area offer 24/7 service as well to its clients.