The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has urged cargo owners to move double time to pick up their shipments at the Port of Manila before the Papal Visit amid fears that freight containers could once again build up and cause congestion.
PPA General Manager Juan Sta. Ana warned in a statement that port congestion could once again haunt the Port of Manila after Pope Francis’ visit from Jan. 15 to 19 as closed roads might lead to a slowdown in the pickup of containers.
He said that the low number of container pickups during the holidays had already led to a rise in port utilization which is now at 89 percent last week from 79 percent on Dec. 24.
Meanwhile, there are now 17 ships still waiting to dock in Manila, excluding the five docked at the Manila South Harbor and the seven docked at the Manila International Container Terminal.
“[The] PPA, along with the Cabinet Cluster (on Port Congestion) headed by Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras, is appealing to all cargo owners with cleared cargoes pending before the two ports to immediately pick those up soonest to [free up] as much space as possible,” Sta. Ana said.
More space needed
He said that there was a need for additional space inside the container terminals. This was in anticipation of the further slowdown in the pickup of containers due to the huge number of roads to be closed due to the papal visit even as cargo ships continue to dock and offload containers at the Port of Manila.
“We need the spaces in preparation for a worst-case scenario to accommodate the incoming import cargoes from vessels. We are anticipating difficulty accessing the ports during the papal visit but we do not expect the vessels to slow down in bringing in cargoes for the country, so we are asking the participation of each stakeholder to maintain our decongestion efforts,” Sta. Ana added.
Sta. Ana added that in 1995, when Pope John Paul II visited Manila, port operations also slowed down but immediately bounced back. However, he stressed that the cargo volume then was much lower compared to the number of containers that now arrive at the Port of Manila every year.
The PPA, as well as the national government through the Cabinet Cluster on Port Congestion, has been working to ease utilization levels at the Port of Manila since the middle of 2014 after the Manila City government’s truck ban exacerbated port congestion and led to delays and problems in delivering shipped goods to their owners.
The congestion was blamed for the massive traffic jams on national roads such as Roxas Boulevard and the North Luzon Expressway.
Pressure and calls from the national government led Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada to suspend indefinitely the city’s extended truck ban which lifted severe restrictions on heavy trucks using the city’s roads. However, Estrada warned that he would reimpose the truck ban if he sees no improvement in traffic flow within the city.