Manila port congestion ‘significantly’ drops over the weekend, says PPA

The congestion level at the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) and Manila South Harbor (MSH) "significantly" dropped over the weekend, according to the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).

"Congestion level at the two Manila ports drop significantly over the weekend and need to clear only about 1% of its current cargo volume to breach the 80% target level despite the influx of cargoes due to the run-up to Christmas," PPA said in a Dec. 15 statement.

PPA general manager Juan Sta. Ana noted that yard utilization has been "significantly reduced," giving port operators "ample elbow room to maneuver to send out and take in containers compared to the condition a couple of weeks ago."

The combined yard utilization of the two Manila ports is pegged at 81 percent, just above the 80-percent target set by the Cabinet Cluster on Port Congestion.

MICT has a yard utilization of 84 percent while MSH has 77 percent.

PPA also noted that the total number of vessels at queue decreased to 16 vessels from a high of 30 vessels a couple of weeks ago. The number does not include vessels currently at berth. — Kathryn Mae P. Tubadeza/BM, GMA News