MANILA: A day after that it was reported that the Manila ports will be fully decongested early 2015, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said that yard utilization is nearing congestion level due to the 10-day holiday period.
Thus, PPP General Manager Juan Sta Ana appealed to importers and cargo owners to withdraw their cargos early and, if possible, double the volume each time, considering there is only a week left before Christmas and New Year.
December 24-28 and December 30-January 4 are critical dates, as the ports will be clogged with incoming imports, he said.
He said that port operators will be operating 24/7, except New Year’s Day, as vessels continue to come in even during this holiday season.
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) is also taking operational measures to guarantee the clearance of cargos even during the holidays, Sta Ana said.
the combined yard utilization of the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) of the International Container Terminal Services Incorporated (ICTSI) and the Manila South Harbor of Asian Terminals Incorporated (ATI) stood at 81percent or approximately 66,000 TEUs.
The cabinet cluster on port congestion already set a yard utilization target of 80 percent or approximately 65,200 TEUs.
The November yard utilization went down to 78%, but breached 80% again due the holiday season.
The PPA remains fully confident, though, that the Manila ports will be fully decongested early next year once the government and the private sector clear the excess 1 percent of its current cargo volume to stabilize at the 80% target level.
Also, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) agreed to allow trucks to ply Roxas Boulevard from midnight to 5 am from December 17 to 22.
