THE Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) will not allow expansion or construction of ports adjacent to the North Harbor to give Manila North Harbour Port, Inc (MNHPI), the port’s new operator, time to recoup its investment.
Affected ports are Pier 15 in South Harbor operated by Asian Terminals, Inc, Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) operated by International Container Terminal Services, Inc, and the Manila Harbour Centre (MHC) where Harbour Centre Port Terminals, Inc (HCPTI) is located.
MNHPI – the company formed by the joint venture of HCPTI and Metro Pacific Investment Corp – will take over operations of North Harbor on February 15, 2010.
“The competition offered by Pier 15 at South Harbor, MICT, and the MHC shall not be disturbed during the term of this contract,” a document signed by PPA general manager Atty Oscar Sevilla, MNHPI president and CEO Michael Romero and MNHPI chief financial officer and treasurer Jose Ma. Lim noted.
“The Authority shall not allow any expansion of these existing competing ports/terminals nor allow the construction/operation of new ports/terminals with the purpose of handling domestic traffic at the Port of Manila,” the document added.
Conditions for expansion
Expansion of adjacent ports will, however, be allowed once cargo traffic at the North Harbor reaches 1.4 million TEUs and 6 million metric tons (non-containerized cargo), or when the port’s berth occupancy rate reaches 65% or 70% for the general cargo terminal for two consecutive years.
Under the 25-year contract, MNHPI has to maintain a gross productivity rate equal to or higher than the minimum requirement on a per hour basis in the loading and unloading of cargo. The requirement for container traffic using ship gear is six boxes per hour; using ship shore crane, 20 boxes per hour; and using ramp, 30 boxes per hour.
For non-containerized cargo, the minimum requirement is 13 metric tons per hour when using ship gear and 30 metric tons when using ramp.
MNHPI is expected to sink in P11 billion of its total committed investment in the next six years.
Under MNHPI’s plan for North Harbor this year, Terminal 1 (which will handle container cargo) will be paved and a new quay crane installed.
In its first three years under a new operator, North Harbor is seen to breach the 1 million-TEU mark and handle about 2.5 million passengers annually or more than half its current capacity.
