Additional 13 PH ports readied for global trade recovery

At least 13 new port projects across the country are expected to begin operations before July amid the anticipated pick up in shipping demand and the return of global trade.

“The projects that were completed [prepares] the country to take in the shipping and logistical demands both from local and international players in the short- to mid-term as the world transitions to the normal,” Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) General Manager Jay Daniel R. Santiago said in a statement on Monday.

Among these are the Currimao Port in Ilocos Norte, which is designed to cater to “bigger, more sophisticated cruise ships,” and the Bulan Port in Sorsogon, which will serve as an alternative jump-off point to Masbate and Cebu.

PPA also identified Banago Port in Negros Occidental as well as the ports of Baybay and Palompon in Leyte, which are expected to boost trade and tourism in Cebu and Bohol.

Biggest in the country

The state-owned agency said the passenger terminal buildings in Batangas and Calapan, deemed two of the biggest in the country, would also be inaugurated before June 30.

“The remaining days of this administration are now focused on further streamlining systems and procedures to achieve seamless interconnectivity not only of the ports but also its processes, resulting in efficiency across all aspects of PPA operations,” Santiago said.

The regulator said it has spent P19.87 billion to complete 240 port projects under the “Build, Build, Build” program.

Good standing

“PPA is in good standing right now due to the institutional changes implemented by the current administration to fulfill the mandate of the agency to improve and build ports to properly connect the archipelago and spur economic growth among the islands,” Santiago said.

PPA is also set to remit P4.08 billion worth of dividends to the Department of Finance (DOF), 8.5-percent bigger than what it paid the previous year. The amount represents 60 percent of its net income of P6.79 billion last year.

Total volume of cargo discharged and loaded in ports last year grew by 9.32 percent to 266.76 million metric tons from around 244 million MT in 2020. Container traffic in 2021, meanwhile, was up 8.73 percent to 7.35 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) from 6.76 million TEUs previously. INQ