Razon-led International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) has shelled out an additional $10 million to increase the annual capacity of its Manila cargo port facility by more than 30 percent.
In a statement, the company said the money would be spent to acquire eight brand-new rubber-tired gantries (RTG) or mobile cranes to support the Manila International Container Terminal’s (MICT) new Berth 6 operation.
The order will raise the terminal’s RTG fleet from the current 37 to 45, the biggest in the Philippines and among the other ICTSI-operated terminals worldwide.
The investment, together with the startup of Berth 6, will raise the MICT’s current annual capacity of 1.9 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to 2.5 million TEUs. The MICT is ICTSI’s flagship operation in the Philippines.
The new equipment will be delivered in two batches beginning June next year in time for the startup of Berth 6.
The new equipment, acquired from Swedish company Kalmar, employ the latest technology to provide optimum efficiency. With the new equipment, “operation speeds are higher than existing cranes but with lower noise and less exhaust emission,” the company said.
“Emphasis was placed on economy of operation and it is anticipated that these RTGs will yield fuel savings of at least 20 percent compared to the current fleet,” it added.
On top of this, ICTSI said it has placed an order for two new Chinese super post-Panamax quay cranes, also for the new Berth 6. These cranes, capable of lifting containers on 18-container wide vessels, will enter service in 2012 and share many of the high-technology features incorporated into the RTG design.
Headquartered in Manila, ICTSI is a leading port management company involved in the operations and development of 22 marine terminals and port projects in 17 countries worldwide.