MANILA, Philippines - To speed up the decongestion of the two ports in Manila, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) will propose that business firms move their cargo during the weekend.
PPA general manager Juan Sta. Ana said their office and the two port operators, International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) that operates at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) and the Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) that runs the South Harbor (SH), would want to encourage businesses to transport their shipments during weekends.
They have also started talks with business groups, particularly the Confederation of Garments Exporters of the Philippines (CONGEP) and the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry inc. (FFCCCII), to support the weekend release of cargo.
CONGEP and FFCCCII are already discussing the proposal with their members and the two port operators on how they could minimize the additional expense of operating during weekends.
Warehouses are usually closed on weekends to save on cost.
The CONGEP and FFCCCII have initially agreed to try the weekend release of cargo scheme for two months. The groups ship approximately a thousand containers a week.
“This is a very big boost in our desire to reduce our weekday release of cargo and spread it out instead during weekends. If we can get this going the soonest time possible, we will further ease the congestion problem not only in ports but also on the streets,” Sta. Ana said.
Following initial negotiations, the members of the garments sector and the FFCCCII group would open on Saturdays and Sundays to accept delivery of their cargo from the Manila ports. In return, the PPA, including the two operators of the Manila ports, would give significant discounts on storage and other costs related to cargo handling.
Port congestion continues to ease up, with yard utilization both at the MICP and SH have been reduced to 89 percent.
The PPA plans to lease an area at the Cultural Center of the Philippines complex to store empty containers to further ease congestion at the ports.
They are also planning to maintain at nine the number of ships waiting to unload cargo at the anchorage.
No comments:
Post a Comment