A new 4.5-hectare container depot in Binacayan, Kawit, Cavite, south of Manila, will start operating from October 8, giving truckers and shipping lines additional option on where to store their empty containers.
The facility, operated by RILBEST Container Yard Inc., has a static capacity of 3,208 forty-foot- equivalent units and 635 twenty-foot-equivalent units, and will be open Mondays to Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
RILBEST said the facility’s capacity can still be expanded.
The facility comes with two mobile telescopic cranes, tractor head fleet and chassis fleet. It also features a special truck holding area for withdrawing/depositing containers, a short-term truck parking area and a dedicated repair and washing area.
The depot was developed in response to recent demand for more space for empty containers after the Manila City truck ban set off the Manila port congestion issue.
RILBEST is part of a group that includes Essential Freight Solutions, Inc and RILBROS Movers Company.
Carl Fontanilla, president of the Container Depot Association of the Philippines, earlier told PortCalls that ever since the Manila truck ban was implemented, most depots have been experiencing slow container turnaround that has resulted in congestion in their yards.
New depots have since sprouted, including two in Bulacan; one in Cabuyao, Laguna; and one in Batangas.
Also being developed are three more container yards located along Star Tollway, in Maysilo in Malabon, and in Parañaque near C5 road. – Roumina Pablo
