THE coordinated, persistent efforts to decongest the ports of Manila and avert damage to commerce without worsening the capital’s traffic woes continue to show tangible progress, but the next three to four weeks will be crucial to sustaining the effort, a ranking government official said on Wednesday.
Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras said the lifting of the truck ban has reaped positive results, with the ports in Manila now experiencing increased efficiency and productivity as trucks are now free to move cargoes out of the terminals in the capital.
“The good news here is that things are now improving,” he said. “We have successfully addressed the congestion, technically, you can say it’s not congested, although the ideal level is still in the lower 80s, we hope to reach that level in about a month’s time.”
The Palace official said the Manila International Container Terminal and the Manila South Harbor have already posted a 25-percent to 30- percent increase in the movement of cargoes to and from the port since September 13.
“The port operators are now working full-blast in its bid to reach the target yard utilization level in time for the expected influx of
boxes brought about by the run-up to Christmas,” Almendras added.
He noted that while Manila port utilization is decreasing to indicate easing, the utilization rates at Subic and Batangas ports have correspondingly risen, so that from being underutilized, they are now being steadily maximized: from peaking at just 10 percent, Batangas is now at 89 percent; while Subic is at 42 percent.
Moreover, the Palace official said that congestion of offshore cargo, meaning imports that were stuck in the ports of Singapore, Hong Kong, Kaohshiung and Shanghai because they couldn’t be sent here at the height of the port congestion, has been easing, meaning the goods are moving, hopefully in time to let businesses meet the holiday rush.
“I will give you a very concrete example. One of the car manufacturers decided to ship to Subic one of their shipments. When it arrived in Subic, it did not have to wait, so it was immediately able to discharge. And within seven hours, the cargo reached the factory of the car manufacturer, which is in Laguna. So it actually works that if there is a critical shipment that needs to be moved, puwede na pong pagalawin, and it’s not going to be held back,” Almendras said.
While projecting positive developments, he admitted, however, that the next few weeks would still be crucial.
“Are we through with the problem? No, we’re not yet through. Why? Because we expect our peak inflows or imports October and November,” he said, explaining that imports that were supposed to come in last August and September were delayed as the situation then was quite difficult. “Na-hold back, so ngayon ay ito nagdadatingan na. So, now actually we are processing a lot more inflows than historical because we are already addressing the backlog that is happening outside the country.”
Brace for the holiday rush
STILL, Almendras said “the good news is the big shipping lines and the big shippers have informed us that they no longer have backlog cargoes in the offshore areas. Meaning in Kaohsiung, in Shanghai, in Singapore. Now, we’re not saying na wala nang naiwan doon. Most probably there are still certain cargoes that are there, depending on which shipping lines they’re using that need to be brought in.”
He reported that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is set to meet shippers and importers to further improve the flow of import and export products coming in and out of Manila’s port area.
“DTI is going to call two meetings: first meeting is with the shipping lines…because we need to talk to the shipping lines to agree on the procedures, their charges, the fees, para malinawan po because there are so much ambiguity,” Almendras admitted.
He added that in the second meeting, the DTI will invite all the importers to explain the process. “Ipapaliwanag po namin sa importers kung ano ’yung proseso, what is the procedure, what they can do [with] the information that they can get their hands on so that they can fight this pagsasamantala and these corruption opportunities.”
Long-term plans?
MEANWHILE, two government officials are proposing different methods to avoid further congestion at the roads and seaports in the capital.
While Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya is proposing the construction of another gateway somewhere around the Manila Bay area to accommodate the expected growth of cargo given the current pace of economic expansion, Socioeconomic Secretary Aresenio M. Balisacan found it more logical to develop other ports such as Batangas or Subic.
“Some people are saying that we should put a cap on the ports of Manila, but then again we have to honor contracts. We have already developed them partially to what the maximum capacity is. But I personally do not see the need to further expand it, otherwise there will be more congestion on our roads, not on our ports,” the transport chief said.
“Eventually we’ll hit the ceiling in the Manila ports, there was a proposal before to build an international port in Sangley in Cavite,” he added.
Abaya was referring to the proposal of Tieng group to construct a seaport in the Cavite area, pursuant to Executive Order 629, which directs the Philippine Reclamation Authority to convert “Sangley Point in Cavite into an international logistics hub with modernized seaport and airport.”
The proposal of All-Asia Resources and Reclamation Corp. was submitted to the government in 2013. It involves the reclamation of an area 150 hectares off-shore of Danilo Atienza Airbase and the construction of a bulk liquid depot with 200 million-liter capacity.
The Tieng group also proposed the construction of a container with a 4-million twenty-foot equivalent units capacity that would accommodate Post Panamax and Malaca-max class ships.
The proposal carried an initial P35.8-billion price tag, excluding the construction of port thoroughfares.
“I bounced that idea off to Secretary Balisacan, because I believe that he will see the bigger picture of it. According to him, a more logical proposal would be to develop and expand Batangas and Subic, to spread development in rural and provincial areas. They will get the benefit of having expanded ports,” Abaya said.
“The Manila Bay are includes the likes of Cavite and Batangas. I see the logic in Secretary Balisacan. If we have the funds to inject, we could pursue it,” he added.
Lorens Marasigan
Image credits: Alysa Salen