The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has extended by a decade the permit of Harbour Centre Port Terminal, Inc. (HCPTI) to operate Harbour Centre, its bulk and breakbulk terminal in Manila.
In a text message to PortCalls, PPA assistant general manager for operations Hector Miole confirmed the extension granted to HCPTI on June 6, three days before the port operator’s permit to operate was set to expire on June 9, 2017.
HCPTI submitted the requirements needed to renew the concession three years before its permit to operate was to expire this year. The previous PPA Board in 2016 granted a 15-year extension, but subject to certain conditions.
This extension, however, did not take effect.
The conditions put forward by the PPA Board in 2016 included dividing HCPTI’s application into two, one covering its north terminal, the Manila North Harbor, and the other its south port, Harbour Centre. The PPA said the two have different renewal issues which needed to be resolved separately.
Another condition set was for HCPTI to submit additional technical documents, including proof of ownership/possession of the land comprising the port facilities, and an indemnity bond in favor of PPA.
HCPTI complied with only one of the conditions (additional technical documents) while deeming the other two unnecessary.
The current PPA Board carried over the conditions set by the previous Board, requiring HCPTI to file separate applications for the renewal of its two terminals. But the current Board last May dispensed with the indemnity bond. HCPTI was given until June 8 to file separate applications for the two terminals.
A PortCalls source, however, said the 10-year extension now granted to HCPTI no longer requires separate applications for Harbour Centre and Manila North Harbour.
HCPTI operates the 10-hectare multipurpose port terminal catering to locators of the Harbour Centre complex and to those handling bulk and breakbulk cargoes. Manila North Harbour, on the other hand, is the country’s premier domestic terminal.
Last year, HCPTI’s mother company, R-II Builders, Inc., signed a joint-venture agreement with the city government of Manila to reclaim 50 hectares of land and make it an extension of Harbour Centre so as to help solve berth congestion. The port has been operating at capacity since 2012 and experiencing berth congestion since. – Roumina Pablo
