ICTSI strengthens Davao port to drive exports

PORT GIANT International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) has beefed up its operations in Mindanao to make the most of the area’s potential as one of the country’s leading centers for the export of goods.

In a statement on Friday, ICTSI said its subsidiary in Davao—Davao Integrated Port Services & Stevedoring Corp. (DIPSSCOR)—recently increased the capacity of its reefer storage facility to further improve the transport and storage of banana and other fruit cargo at the Sasa Wharf.

“The Philippines remains one of the leading exporters of bananas; it is the third largest banana exporter in the world, and the leader in Asia,” DIPSSCOR general manager Julien Domingo said.

“DIPSSCOR’s container market share in the Port of Davao is at 70 percent, and this is attributed to the expanding global banana trade,” he said.

Banana exports from the Philippines are mostly produced in Mindanao with Sasa Wharf as the key port handling the delicate commodity, ICTSI said.

“Traders have been shifting the shipping of bananas from reefer ships to reefer containers, a more cost-efficient and safer way of transporting the fruit,” Domingo said.

Sasa Wharf’s reefer facility has a previous capacity of 144 reefer containers.

DIPSSCOR doubled the capacity to 288 reefers with the extension of the existing facility.

Three racks were constructed and installed with 48 plugs of 440 volts each complete with power supply stations.

Reefers may be stacked up to four tiers, with each rack having six rows and two sides.

Last year, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) turned over the operations of the reefer facility in the terminal to DIPSSCOR.

DIPSSCOR, an ICTSI group company, is the largest cargo handler and port services provider in the Port of Davao in Mindanao, southern Philippines.

ICTSI, headquartered in Manila, Philippines, is a leading port management company involved in the operations and development of 22 marine terminals and port projects in 17 countries worldwide.