The Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), operated by International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI), continues to perform optimally as the company gears up for the peak season. This performance comes after the record volume and productivity with its first year-to-date two million TEU move last December.
As of May, yard utilization at the MICT remained at 61 percent or well below the 70 percent ideal percentage. During the same month, average crane productivity hovered at 32 moves per hour. These numbers underscore the terminal’s strong performance despite the uptick in container volume as global trade continues to rebound.
The mechanisms developed in cooperation with the Philippine government and other stakeholders in 2014 have resulted in the easing of traffic in Metro Manila, despite inadequate trade infrastructure, according to Christian R. Gonzalez, ICTSI senior vice president and head of Asia Pacific region and MICT. The congestion problem provided the opportunity to further improve operations:
“We resolved the issue by putting in place new technologies that would not only upgrade the terminal, but would make MICT a sustainable business factoring in the quality of life of our hinterland communities and immediate environs”, explained Mr Gonzalez.
More specifically, in 2014, the root cause of the port congestion was the truck ban that limited truck movement in the city’s major thoroughfares, and as a result, the containers couldn’t get out of the terminal. This led to the development of the Terminal Appointment Booking System (TABS).
Under TABS, trucks arrive at the terminal according to the booked slot schedule, which the system evenly distributes throughout the day. This system helped reduce the number of trucks on the road without limiting the movement of cargo.
The adoption of the online booking system, combined with more productive city regulations, recent clearing of roads surrounding the port, and the opening of the service roads of a major thoroughfare, Roxas Boulveard, to truck traffic, has resulted in improved trade flow in and out of the port.
To further ease container movement and ensure seamless operations at the MICT, ICTSI implemented capacity and facility upgrades. Terminal utilization improved since 2015 after the completion of Yard 7, which increased the terminal’s capacity by 18 percent from 2.5 million to 2.75 million TEUs. Yard 7 is part of MICT’s PhP5 billion expansion project.
As the country enters the second half of the fiscal year, volume is expected to surge, with imports starting to arrive ahead of the holiday season.
Last year, the MICT achieved a milestone with its first year-to-date two millionth TEU move, triggering a multi-billion peso capacity improvement commitment with the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) that requires ICTSI to commission five neo-Panamax quay cranes, 12 reach stackers, and build two new berths by 2020. The expansion and capacity improvement will enable the MICT to service bigger ships, which is now becoming the trend in global container trade.
“We are entering the era of larger ships. We need to adapt and stay competitive by enhancing our capabilities, which is something that we have already started,” adds Mr. Gonzalez.
