Moving port operations from Manila ‘not a sound solution’ to traffic – OECD report

An international group sought to convince the City of Manila to hold on to its ports as its container operations outweigh the gains in transferring activities to alternate ports in Batangas and Subic.

The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said redirecting port operations to alternate ports to decongest roads and address the problematic backlog in the transport of container vans in the ports of Manila “may not necessarily be a sound solution based on a recent study on port cities”.

A paper published by OECD entitled "Competitiveness of Global Port-Cities: Synthesis Report" indicated that although port and cities were historically strongly linked, the link between port and city growth has become weaker.

The study cited Manila among the bustling port cities in Asia along with Shanghai, Osaka, and Mumbai.

"Many of the largest cities have the largest ports. This is particularly the case of many Asian cities such as Shanghai and Osaka-Kobe which are among the 20 largest metropolitan areas and also home to the 20 largest ports in the world," the OECD study noted, pointing out that well-functioning ports lower the costs of trade, generate value added and employment and attract certain economic sectors.

"One ton of port throughput is on average associated with $100 of economic value added, and an increase in 1 million tons of throughput is associated with an increase in employment in the port region of 300 jobs in the short term," it said.

The study also noted that road congestion, which is common among port cities, not only hampers port competitiveness but is also considered a major nuisance to urban citizens.

How to ease traffic

It suggested the use of port gate strategies and modal shift strategies as solutions to ease vehicular traffic among port cities. Main policy instruments in port gate strategies are terminal appointment systems, extending gate hours and virtual container yard systems.

The study stressed that urban governments' land use policy will have a huge role to play in assuring the efficiency of ports in port cities, saying that “land use plans can constitute an important consultation mechanism for ensuring that stakeholders are aligned with the direction of future port developments."

It also recommended the shift towards other transport modes such as rail, inland waterways, pipelines and short sea shipping to reduce port-related traffic congestion, noting that recent studies have stressed the important role of ports in global supply chains.

“The effectiveness of ports depends on how they are linked in these chains," the study said.

It also said, however, that the interaction between ports and their cities is underpinned by a set of policy dilemmas because port authorities and city governments do not necessarily have the same interests, goals and perception of challenges and policies that are needed.

Urban governments generally have a wider set of challenges to solve, including housing and urban transportation, both issues of high relevance to their electorate so they will tend to prioritize urban passenger transportation and have an interest in redeveloping waterfronts into housing areas, it noted.

The study pointed out that enhancing the synergy between the urban government and the harbors in port cities redounds to the benefit of the communities where these are located.

Port-related value added and employment is strongly related to urban wealth, stressing that ports can be made more competitive by strengthening their maritime links, port operations and hinterland connections.

Truck ban aggravated congestion

Manila port congestion was aggravated by the imposition of a stringent truck ban in February by the City of Manila prohibiting cargo trucks in the city street between 5:00 am to 9:00 pm that has resulted to the massive accumulation of empty container vans in the container terminal.

The Philippine Ports Authority has had to resort to calling on businesses to withdraw their shipments during weekends as a stop-gap measure as the national government prepares alternative ports in Subic north of Manila and Batangas in the south.

PPA general manager Juan Sta. Ana told media it will take months before normal levels in terminal traffic can be achieved; mitigation measures currently imposed will not be enough to bring port congestion “to pre- Manila daytime truck ban period.”

Manila port congestion has reached a height of 22,000 20-foot container equivalent units (TEU) while laden containers piled up reaching 99,000 TEUs that occupied 105 percent of the docks of the Manila International Container Terminal and the Manila South Harbor.

The report, written by OECD public governance and territorial development directorate administrator for port-cities Olaf Merk, was based on the findings from a series of OECD Port-Cities case studies, including those of Le Havre/Rouen/Paris/Caen (France); Hamburg (Germany); Helsinki (Finland); Marseille (France); Mersin (Turkey); Rotterdam/Amsterdam (Netherlands); Antofagasta (Chile); Bratislava/Komarno/Sturova (Slovak Republic); Durban (South Africa); and Shanghai (China).

The OECD Port-Cities Programme aims to identify how ports can be assets for urban development. The programme assesses the impact of ports on cities and regions. It also compares policies aimed at increasing positive regional impacts of ports and limiting negative effects. —  Rey T. Salita/JDS, GMA News