Transport, logistics master plan pushed

The Duterte administration should come up with a unified port, logistics and transport master plan that would cover cargo movements in Luzon and the different consumption zones where the cargoes would  be delivered.

The master plan should be able to identify the kind of infrastructure and facilities required in which areas and how these structures would be able to complement each other not only to ensure more efficient port operations in congested Manila, but also to help resolve the worsening traffic woes in the city.

Christian Razon Gonzalez, head for Asia Pacific and the Subcontinent of International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), said the country was industrializing at a rapid pace. The existing infrastructure, however, is not enough to meet the current requirements of the growing economy, Gonzalez said.

In the case of port operations, the bulk of the country’s businesses still use the Manila port for their shipments despite the availability of alternative ports like the one in Subic, Zambales. This places huge pressure on the capacity of Manila’s port and roads to handle the growing volumes of cargos coming in and out of the country.

“The message has been focused a lot on containers because of what happened in 2014 (during the port congestion). But we’ve forgotten that a lot of the cargos that come in here is still non containerized… We also need the roads and the public transport needs to be improved, whether subways or railways. You need to build the projects first,” Gonzalez said at the sidelines of the Management Association of the Philippines 14th International CEO Forum Tuesday.

“And what we’ve heard from the government is very positive because that’s exactly what they want to do but we need to fast track it,” he added.