ICTSI’s Laguna inland container depot to open by Feb

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Manila International Container Terminal's Berth 7. Photo courtesy of International Container Terminal Services, Inc.
Manila International Container Terminal's Berth 7. Photo courtesy of International Container Terminal Services, Inc.
Manila International Container Terminal’s Berth 7. Photo courtesy of International Container Terminal Services, Inc.

The first phase of the Laguna inland container depot (ICD) of International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) will begin operations on February 1, according to the port operator’s top executive.

“Target for February 1 was for start-up operations and the delivery of first batch of equipment,” Christian Gonzalez, ICTSI head for Asia, Pacific and the Sub Continent, told PortCalls in an email.

Gonzalez said the development of the 21-hectare facility in Cabuyao is on schedule. He added that by February, the ICD will be able to handle 60,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per annum, but noted this figure is “very preliminary and it depends on the dwell time.”

In a separate press release, ICTSI said the operation of the ICD is part of its response to the rise of over 40% in cargo movements since the lifting of the Manila truck ban, anticipation of a surge in trade with the sustained robust growth of the Philippine economy, and following the approval from the government to develop more yard and road infrastructure.

ICTSI said it is speeding up the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) expansion and ICD, which will jointly add more than 20% to the existing static yard capacity without impacting traffic patterns.

Without changes to the road network or additional truck restrictions, the company said the completion of Berth 7 and the ICD will raise overall capacity of Manila’s two international ports, the other port being South Harbor operated by Asian Terminals Inc, to 4.2 million TEUs. South Harbor has a declared capacity of 1.2 million TEUs.

“Even in its earliest stages of development, the new ICD alone will add new laden, empty, and warehousing capacity to the market, and will deliver a further 250,000-TEU capacity to MICT,” Gonzalez said in the release.

“These plans have been on the drawing board, ready for execution, and we were just waiting for government concurrence.  Now that we have it, and we have the resources, we can move quickly to fast-track these projects,” he added.

The Laguna ICD is only one of two 20-hectare properties that ICTSI has purchased to be developed into ICDs.

Berth 7

Meanwhile, Gonzalez said the first phase of Berth 7 has been fully operational since November last year and can now handle 6,500 TEUs. When its conversion is complete, Berth 7, currently used as an empty container yard, will become a full rubber-tired gantry facility that can process 500,000 TEUs.

While Berth 7 and the ICD are being developed, an adjacent temporary empty handling area at the MICT was put into operation on November 1 last year.

ICTSI will later incorporate rail provisions into Berth 7 to augment operations of the Laguna ICD, with plans to purchase rail-mounted gantries for the latter. The ICD will thus be linked to the MICT by road, and later, rail, to ensure seamless transfer of cargo from the Port of Manila to economic zones south of Metro Manila, the company said.

ICTSI in 1998 operated a rail-based ICD for six years but shut it down in 2003 due to losses, strong competition from trucks, and slow industrial growth in the facility’s main market.

The expansion at the MICT and the ICD will be complemented by ICTSI’s plan to raise the capacity of its Subic terminals to establish Subic as Northern and Central Luzon’s next gateway port and not a mere spillover terminal, the company said.

ICTSI and partner lines are further connecting Subic to Japan, Singapore, China, and further on, Europe and the Middle East, the company added.

New berth eyed

Gonzalez further revealed that ICTSI also has plans and the attendant resources to build a new berth: “A new berth is pivotal for incremental capacity to address economic expansion for many years down the line. We hope the government will re-visit this plan for a new berth.”

A recent study noted that timely investments by the country’s port operators have enabled the total port capacity to keep pace with growth in trade, even as it noted that the existing capacity has yet to be fully utilized.

The Port and Road Infrastructure for Greater Luzon Trade study reported that capacity utilization in both MICT and South Harbor without the hindrance of any road regulation remains below 80%.

Close to 1.8 million TEUs passed through the MICT last year, representing 72% of its total capacity of 2.5 million, while almost 922,000 TEUs went through South Harbor or 77% of its 1.2-million capacity.

“Today overall available international container terminal capacity in Manila is 3.7 million TEUs per year against a throughput in 2013 of just over 2.7 million TEUs, highlighting that timely investment by the private sector has kept the demand-supply ratio well in balance,” the report said.

“The development of new yard and road facilities at MICT, for which foundation work has already been undertaken, will raise annual international terminal capacity to three million TEUs per year at MICT and to 4.2 million TEUs per year overall for the international terminals,” it added. – Roumina Pablo