ICTSI Manila completes berth expansion to handle over 3.3m teu

The infrastructure expansion has raised MICT’s annual capacity to over 3.3m teu.

“The added berthing capability and yard space will enable the country [Philippines] to easily handle added volume that is expected as the country gears up for an economic reboot following last year’s trade flow facilitation complications. Moreover, this will enable us to continue performing our tasks as frontliners to move critical goods that are still badly needed,” said Christian R. Gonzalez, ICTSI executive vice president.

The project included the berth expansion that adds another 150 meters to Berth 7, creating a 600-meter contiguous berth together with the adjacent Berth 6 to accommodate over 8,000-teu capacity vessels. The two berths currently have five quay cranes, with a design for up to six quay cranes.

The berth expansion is complemented by the extension of the container yard by about another 5.5 hectares – three hectares designated for laden containers and 2.5 hectares for empties. This redounds to added capacity for the terminal of an estimated 200,000 teu for laden containers and 150,000 teu for empties.

Looking ahead, MICT plans to acquire another eight environmentally-friendly hybrid rubber tired gantries (RTGs) this year to add to the 32 hybrid RTGs acquired starting 2018.

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Part of the replacement program includes the dismantling of the MICT’s first quay crane this year which will be replaced over the next three years by three new quay cranes all capable of servicing larger vessels of over 12,500-teu capacity. 

Meanwhile, the MICT is refurbishing Berths 1 to 5 and their backup areas in preparation for the next 25 years of operation. These include the installation of an additional 450 reefer plugs for 40 footers expected to be operational by April this year, refurbishment of Berths 1 to 4 by September this year, and the upgrade of the yard infrastructure of Berths 1 to 5 by the end of 2022. 

The MICT is also continuing to engage with the Bureau of Customs to improve services in relation to the unimpeded and online release of cargo release to include reduced releasing time from filing of entry and more seamless x-ray and inspection procedures.