No letup in declogging efforts even with lifting of Manila truck ban

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MICT Berth Aprilshot7Port decongestion initiatives, including relocation of overstaying Customs-cleared containers from Manila and the imposition of higher container storage fees by October 1, will continue despite the lifting of Manila’s truck ban, according to the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).

Efforts to decongest Manila ports will push through as planned, “as there are plenty of areas to cover before reaching the desired yard level utilization of 80%,” said PPA general manager Juan Sta. Ana in a statement.

He explained that with “the gates already open to facilitate the unclogging operations of the port,” the port authority and the two Manila port operators International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) and Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) “have to impose the measures that were agreed upon instead of going back to the drawing board and devising a new set of measures.”

“We will now immediately look at how to facilitate receiving the held-up cargoes in nearby foreign ports as well as the influx of boxes brought about by the run-up to Christmas,” Sta. Ana said.

“We appreciate the gesture of the City Government of Manila in lifting their truck ban and we as port operators now need to work double-time to immediately decongest the ports and free up as much space as possible,” he further stated.

“The lifting of the truck ban has given us the chance to decongest the port and get back to our normal way of life sooner than anticipated,” Sta. Ana said.

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada announced on September 13 the indefinite lifting of the city’s truck ban policy in response to calls from various stakeholders pointing out its negative effect on the economy. They stressed that the restricted movement of trucks had led to longer delivery time, a shortage of raw materials and even loss of employment.

On September 12, ICTSI and ATI transferred about 135 overstaying containers to Subic on board the MV West Ocean 3. The vessel, deployed under the Subic Super Shuttle service, left Manila International Container Terminal in the morning and reached Subic in the evening.

The ship is set to sail again on September 16 to carry another 135 containers, and thereafter every Tuesdays and Fridays.

ICTSI and ATI have likewise hired 1,000 trucks to transfer some 2,000 overstaying Customs-cleared containers from Manila to a four-hectare facility in Cabuyao, Laguna. The initial transfer operations started on September 14 and were completed the next day. This decongestion effort will be repeated for four Sundays by the terminal operators.

According to PPA, port operators are trying to remove about 5,000 overstaying Customs-cleared twenty-footer vans at MICT and South Harbor to clear up space for incoming cargoes.

From October 1, port operators will impose a daily storage fee of P5,000 per twenty-footer beginning on the 11th day after securing clearance from the Bureau of Customs. This effectively changes PPA’s free container storage period to ten days from the previous five. — Roumina Pablo

Photo courtesy of ICTSI