Dev’t of ports around Phils. in full swing

The anticipation of a more dynamic and active trading at the ports as the domestic economy becomes upbeat after the world and regional economies manifested strong signs of recovery prompts the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to come up with a program that it can implement within the short term and medium term.

Being the interface between land and sea, the ports happen to have the most strategic role of sustaining the growth of the economy. The country has recently recovered by facilitating the movement of goods and passengers.

Raul T. Santos, assistant to the general manager for Corporate Affairs and Special Projects-PPA, said that over the years, the normal evolution of trade has witnessed the concentration of activities in the following ports which are now greatly acknowledged as the country’s major gateways: Manila consisting of South Harbor (SH), North Harbor (NH), and the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT); Batangas; San Fernando; Subic; Cebu; Iloilo; Cagayan de Oro; Zamboanga; Davao and General Santos.

These 12 ports handled, on the average, 73 percent or roughly 46 million metric tons of the 62 million metric tons total cargo throughout per year.

Santos said that while other ports are emerging as equally important cargo distribution centers, the Port of Manila has remained the premier gateway, with its level of operations being reliably used as barometer of port activities in the country.

In relation to the total volume of cargo of all PPA ports nationwide, its foreign trade is almost 29 percent and its domestic trade 26 percent. Accordingly, the revenue it generates accounts for about 65 percent of PPA gross revenue from operations.

While sound planning would require investment to be undertaken only in ports, which offer reasonable economic returns, PPA recognizes the need to make available ports and attendant services even in areas, which are not considered center of activities.

PPA has therefore formulated a comprehensive port modernization program that covers the upgrading of capabilities of major gateways, the development of ports in the outlying areas and the establishment of roll-on/roll-off (RO-RO) facilities to connect the major gateways to the other ports.

The MICT which is a private terminal operated by the International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), continues to be developed. It is the country’s busiest and most modern terminal with annual capacity of 1.5 million twenty equivalent units (TEUs) and current utilization of about 70 percent.

Its existing facilities include berth, fairway channel, water depth, container freight stations, truck and trailer holding area, weigh bridges, power station, and maintenance and repair workshop.

The SH rehabilitation, development and expansion project is part of the commitment of Asian Terminal Inc. (ATI) involving around US$300 million over the next 10 years, which aims to provide immediate and permanent relief of the perennial port problems.