THE operator of the most modern port terminal in the Philippines said the Mindanao region can become the next transshipment point in Southeast Asia due to its modernized facilities and spacious terminals.
“Mindanao is ideal as a transshipment point in the region. Given the Asean integration, we find Davao and Mindanao in a very strong strategic position relative to other Asean states,” Alexander N. Valoria, president and CEO of Anflo Management & Investment Corp. (Anflocor), operator of Davao International Container Terminal Inc. (DICT) told reporters in a news briefing on Thursday.
Valoria said some cargo shipments from New Zealand, Indonesia and Australia are already bypassing Singapore and made DICT as their transshipment point.
“Singapore is very congested and expensive. The potential is for the Philippines and Mindanao,” Valoria said, adding that even the Port of Singapore Authority lauded the capabilities and potential of DICT.
“All the indigenous advantages are already here where we can springboard from and become a world- class terminal,” Valoria said.
He added that their port-terminal fees are way cheaper than those of Singapore.
“We are even lower than the government ports,” he said, but didn’t disclose any amount.
DICT completed its P5-billion expansion in August 2016. The completion of the second phase of DICT increases the total-handling capacity of the port to 800,000 TEUs from the current capacity of 300,000 TEUs, Valoria said.
“From two quay cranes, we now have four quay cranes, eight RTG [rubber-tired gantry] cranes and other various container-handling equipment,” he said.
The container port, which is adjacent to a 70-hectare export-processing zone, has an area of 11 hectares, backed up by a 15-hectare container yard, DICT said.
DICT said their recent expansion is a support to the anticipated economic growth and development of Mindanao, given the plans and outlook President Duterte on the region.
“A major component of the economic program is increased spending on infrastructure. The completion of the DICT project is seen to help improve the logistics backbone of Mindanao’s economy, as well as create jobs in areas less progressive,” DICT said in a statement.
DICT Vice President Bonifacio Licayan said the recent expansion enables DICT to handle Panamax and even post-Panamax-size vessels, a feat which the Manila Port can cater to, but on a restricted manner. Panamax vessels are midsized cargo ships capable of passing through the Panama Canal.
“They can handle the same vessel, but they are given restricted load, because the water in Manila is shallow. The freight can damage the port,” Licayan said.
The first-ever Panamax vessel the Philippines received docked in DICT on December 24, 2014, Valoria said.
“That vessel has never docked in any other port in the Philippines, but we receive that size of a vessel here regularly,” he said.
Aside from the port-terminal expansion, DICT also invested in a $1-million terminal operating system (TOS) called Navis from America-based Cargotec Corp. The top-of-the-line TOS allows a port-terminal operator to control and trace the port logistical and cargo operations in real time and paperless through high-tech technology system, DICT said.
“You don’t see us like other ports, which have spotters whose job is to look for containers physically. We do it automated with tracking numbers recorded and viewable in the TOS,” Licayan said.
Valoria said they edgedout other ports with their modernized facilities, which allow them to ease up their operation process from the usual three-day time frame to within hours, allowing them to service more vessels.
“The BOC called us the most modern port in the Philippines today. The level of our technology allows us for an integration from interface and shipping to the loading and departure of the vessel,” Valoria said.
“There is a number of competition. There are a number of private ports, but they don’t have the efficiency, they don’t have the gigantic cranes and modern facilities like us,” Valoria added.
Shipping lines that call on DICT include American President Lines, Maersk MCC, CMA CGM, Wan Hai Shipping Lines, Advance Container Lines (ACL), Regional Container Lines (RCL), Pacific International Lines (PIL), Mariana Express Lines and Cosco Shipping Lines.
Licayan said 85 percent of the volume of the cargoes they ship are fresh produce, including pineapples and bananas. DICT also handles dry cargoes like rubber and skin coconuts.
“We have more white containers than colored containers. It speaks a lot about DICT,” Licayan said, referring to reefer containers, which are refrigerated containers made specifically for fresh produce.
Licayan said DICT has 1,080 reefer tanks, meaning it is capable of handling 1,080 reefer containers at any given moment.
DICT said there are ongoing negotiations for additional shipping lines which would call the terminal soon. The company didn’t disclose any names of prospective shipping lines.
DICT said that they will hit their shipping target this year of 300,000 TEUs on the back of their recent improvements. DICT shipped 267,000 TEUs last year using only one berth, Valoria said.
DICT is a joint venture between Anflocor and Dole-Stanfilco, the leading producers and exporters of fresh Cavendish bananas in the Philippines. It was formerly known as San Vicente Terminal and Brokerage Services Inc., servicing the stevedoring and arrastre requirements of break bulk shipments of fresh produce like bananas and pineapples at the Tadeco wharf.
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This will surely bring in more investments and businesses. Kudos to Anflocor and DICT