PPA says there will be no repeat of last year's port congestion

Senator Bam Aquino on Monday said that he was confident there would be no repeat of last year's port congestion in Manila.

"I am sure that all agencies including the Philippine Ports Authority, Department of Trade and Industry, and the port operators are all being vigilant in ensuring that our port issues last year are not repeated," Aquino said in a text message to GMA News Online.

Aquino's Senate committee, the Committee on Trade, Commerce, and Entrepreneurship, has been looking into the causes of the port congestion and how these could be addressed.

Meanwhile, PPA general manager Juan Sta. Ana said in a press statement that the two Manila ports were more than ready to tackle the expected increase in cargo volume during the Christmas season and the upcoming national elections.

Sta. Ana said that the Manila South Harbor and Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) were operating better than they were pre-port congestion levels in February 2014.

He pointed out that yard utilization at South Harbor and MICT was now at 55 percent to 59 percent, or about 44,000 to 48,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

Port productivity had also risen to “all-time highs resulting in faster turnaround time for cargoes and vessels to and from the port.”

And the improved situation at the ports came despite double-digit volume growth in the Port of Manila.

Ports congestion was experienced last year when the Manila city government imposed a daytime truck ban.

The massive backlog was felt long after the ban was temporarily lifted in September 2014. — DVM, GMA News