The Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) is ready to handle the expected surge in container volume in the upcoming peak season, a senior official assured on Wednesday.
Christian R. Gonzales, senior vice president of the International Container Terminal Services Inc., said he is confident of MICT’s capacity to keep up with development in rising global container traffic.
“Global container traffic is slowly recovering. As a matter of fact, Southeast Asia and North America have posted the highest average growth at 7 percent during the final quarter of last year,” he said. The increase in volume is brought about by the advanced entry of imports before the holiday season.
The Philippine Ports Authority confirmed that volume growth has been on an upward path since 2015, with utilization and productivity on healthy levels alongside it.
Port congestion is not going to be an issue, he said, as MICT saw the congestion problem in 2014 as an avenue to seek long-term solutions for these challenges.
The Metro Manila Development Authority’s truck ban in 2014 prevented these vehicles’ movement in major thoroughfares in the Metro. This resulted in a surplus of containers stocked in the terminal.
Yard utilization at the port was at 61 percent as of May this year, which is 9 percentage points below its ideal percentage. Crane productivity maintained an average of 32 moves per hour.
“We resolved the issue by putting in place new technologies that would not only upgrade the terminal, but would make MICT a sustainable business factoring in the quality of life of our hinterland communities and immediate environs,” Gonzales said.
The planned expansion and capacity improvement efforts for MICT in 2020 are also expected to contribute to volume growth and more efficient operations, with bigger ships expected to unload cargo in the port.