Port operator International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) is improving access to and from its flagship operation, Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), with two road projects, including a multi-billion-peso overpass.
ICTSI has submitted an intent to proceed with an overpass project that will link MICT directly to Road 10, a major truck route. The project will cost “a few billions” and is expected to be completed by 2019 or 2020, according to ICTSI senior vice president and head of Asia Pacific Region and MICT Christian Gonzalez on the sidelines of the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting this week.
Gonzalez said the project will allow trucks to go into and out of the port without traversing Parola and other small streets. The development is being done in coordination with Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The second project is ongoing–a P120-million improvement on the access road to MICT. About 40% complete, it will be completed in three or four months. It is being done in coordination with the City of Manila and Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).
The port executive said both projects will be complemented by DPWH’s clearing of R10 of obstructions, and the development of Harbor Link, a 5.65-kilometer elevated roadway that will shorten to only 10 minutes the travel time from the port area to the North Luzon Expressway.
Confederation of Truckers Association of the Philippines (CTAP) director Ruperto Bayocot in a text message told PortCalls an overpass is a “good solution” and will be a big help to truckers.
As for the access road, Bayocot hopes illegal settlers can be relocated because they still use parts of the access road to park their tricycles and pedicabs.
Aside from the two projects, ICTSI is eyeing to introduce additional features to the Terminal Appointment Booking System (TABS) to facilitate the flow of trucks. MICT and Manila South Harbor have both been implementing TABS, an online booking system for trucks, since October 2015.
Gonzalez said they are thinking of adding features to the system, with “people… trying to find ways to get around the rules so we’re removing fees but adding some penalties.”
A penalty for early arrivals, for instance, will be imposed, he said.
Early arrivals “is as big of a problem as coming late,” he noted.
Under the current rules, a truck can arrive two hours earlier than its allotted one-hour window, and another two hours after the allotted window. Gonzalez said the grace period given to a truck to arrive at the port without penalty is more than enough.
“Regardless of what the traffic is anywhere, if you plan properly, you can arrive within a five-hour window, especially if you’re just coming from Metro Manila,” he pointed out.
Aside from improving access to the terminal, MICT is acquiring new equipment following the terminal’s handling of 2 million twenty-foot equivalent units last year. The two-million milestone triggers a multi-billion peso capacity improvement commitment with the PPA that requires ICTSI to commission five additional post-Panamax quay cranes along with corresponding yard equipment, and build at least another berth by 2019.
MICT has an annual capacity of 2.75 million TEUs.
Of the five quay cranes, three will arrive in March next year and another two in 2019. The first three will be installed in Berths 5 and 6. Gonzalez said Yard 7 will also have quay cranes, and will later thus be called Berth 7.
Another proposed acquisition is 20 rubber-tired gantry cranes that will either replace or augment the existing MICT fleet.
Gonzalez said that while the terminal expects bigger vessels to call MICT, growth in volume this year will be “nothing spectacular”.– Roumina Pablo
Image courtesy of wowspix at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
