International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) said on Tuesday that its flagship port, the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), has raised its annual capacity to 3.3 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs), after completing its berth expansion project.
The expansion involved the addition of 150 meters to Berth 7, which now has a 600-meter contiguous berth adjacent to Berth 6, both of which now accommodates vessels with loads of over 8,000 TEUs. These are also now equipped with 5 quay cranes, with the option to add one more.
Christian R. Gonzalez, the company’s EVP, said the berth expansion is complemented by the extension of the container yard by about another 5.5 hectares—3 hectares designated for laden containers and 2.5 hectares for empties. This redounds to added capacity for the terminal of an estimated 200,000 TEUs for laden containers and 150,000 TEUs for empties.
“The added berthing capability and yard space will enable the country to easily handle added volume that is expected as the country gears up for an economic reboot following last year’s trade flow facilitation complications. Moreover, this will enable us to continue performing our tasks as frontliners to move critical goods that are still badly needed,” he said.
Anders Dommestrup, the executive director of MICT, said the project was completed despite the limitations brought about by the pandemic, including safety and health protocols even during the construction of the project.
“This project along with the other projects we are implementing, are part of our commitment to the government and to our port users to ease business activities and transactions at the port,” he said.
ICTSI is also planning to acquire next year 8 additional hybrid rubber tired gantries (RTGs) to upgrade its existing 32 RTGs.
The port operator is also replacing the Manila port’s first quay crane with three new ones to serve vessels with 12,500 TEUs of load.
Meanwhile, the MICT is also refurbishing Berths 1 to 5 and their back up areas in preparation for the next 25 years of operation. These include the installation of an additional 450 reefer plugs for 40 footers expected to be operational by April this year, refurbishment of Berths 1 to 4 by September this year, and the upgrade of the yard infrastructure of Berths 1 to 5 by the end of 2022.
It is also adding truck ingress capabilities to the port by April. The new technology is equipped with optical character recognition that is designed to automate gate service.
“We will continue to invest in terminal facilities to improve our capacity, infrastructure and environmental footprint to provide the highest level of service,” Dommestrup said.