Manila South Harbor handles record volume in H1

July 04, 2018

International gateway port Manila South Harbor, managed by listed Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI), ended the first half of 2018 on a record note posting its highest mid-year container volume as it kept goods flowing in support of the growing Philippine economy.

For the first six months, Manila South Harbor handled over 560,000 teus (twenty-foot equivalent units) of foreign containerized shipment, bannered by a back-to-back 100,000-teu performance achieved in May and June.

This represents nearly a five percent increase in volume compared to the first half of 2017, in step with the country’s economic growth pace.

In May, ATI handled an all-time high single-month volume of nearly 105,000 teus, followed by over 103,000 teus in June.

While volume has increased, terminal efficiency and yard utilization at Manila South Harbor have remained optimum.

Aside from growing customer preference, ATI cited the efforts of the Bureau of Customs-Port of Manila (POM), through the leadership of district collector Erastus Sandino Austria, as positive contributor to the volume upsurge, especially for promoting a private-sector and customer-centric philosophy at the POM, which have resulted in greater port efficiencies.

“Through ATI’s and BOC’s collaboration, we are ensuring the seamless flow of goods through Manila’s main gateway port for a robust supply chain,” ATI executive vice president William Khoury said.

ATI also credits the Terminal Appointment Booking System or TABS, an online cargo delivery scheduling system, for sustaining the orderly and uninterrupted flow of trucks and shipment at the port 24/7, as well as its employees, unions, port authorities and other stakeholders for contributing to its milestone achievements.

In anticipation of future growth and aligned with the government’s Build-Build-Build Program, ATI is spending a minimum of Php8.0 billion in capital expenditures this year to further increase the capacity and efficiency of the ports it operates, in line with its investment commitment with the Philippine Ports Authority.

As part of this, more cargo storage spaces are coming online at Manila South Harbor with the near completion of Blocks 143 and 145 adjacent its main container yard and the in-filling of the engineering island basin next to Pier3.

In April, two brand new quay cranes were deployed at Pier 3, further boosting South Harbor’s capability to handle more cargoes and bigger ships at faster turnaround times.  

Completion of ATI’s expansion projects,alongside continuous investment in modern systems and technologies, will increase South Harbor’s annual container handling capacity to over 1.4 million teus by 2019 from its current yearly throughput of 1.25 million teus.