MANILA, Philippines — International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) is now ready to handle additional volume at its flagship Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) with the completion of its berth expansion project.
ICTSI said it has finished a berth expansion program at MICT which raises the terminal’s annual capacity to over 3.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).
The project included primarily the berth expansion, which added 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 port giant said the berth expansion is complemented by the extension of the container yard by about another 5.5 hectares, of which three hectares is designated for laden containers and 2.5 hectares for empties.
This results into added capacity of an estimated 200,000 TEUs for laden containers and 150,000 TEUs for empties for the terminal, the company said.
“The added berthing capability and yard space will enable the company 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,” ICTSI executive vice president Christian Gonzalez said.
“Moreover, this will enable us to continue performing our tasks as frontliners to move critical goods that are still badly needed,” he said.
ICTSI said the additional berth space was completed on time and on budget despite some limitations caused by the pandemic, with strict safety and health protocols implemented throughout the project construction and completion.
“This project, along with the other projects we are implementing, are part of our commitment to the government and to our port users to ease business activities and transactions at the port. We will continue to invest in terminal facilities to improve our capacity, infrastructure and environmental footprint to provide the highest level of service,” MICT executive director and CEO Anders Dommestrup said.
ICTSI said more improvements are underway in MICT. To keep improving its service levels, the firm plans to acquire next year another eight environmentally friendly hybrid rubber tired gantries (RTGs) to add to the 32 hybrid RTGs acquired starting in 2018 under MICT’s equipment replacement program.
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.
The MICT is also refurbishing Berths 1 to 5 and their back up areas in preparation for the next 25 years of operation.
ICTSI said these include the installation of an additional 450 reefer plugs for 40 footers expected to be operational by April, refurbishment of Berths 1 to 4 by September, and the upgrade of the yard infrastructure of Berths 1 to 5 by the end of 2022.
The MICT will also upgrade the entire terminal this year to more environment-friendly LED lighting system which is expected to eliminate light spills and glare while lowering energy consumption by as much as 75 percent.