PPA steps up port privatization process

The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is stepping up measures to start privatizing major ports including ports with private cargo handling operators.

PPA explained that the privatization of the country’s major ports is their contribution to the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme of the Government.

The PPP, on the other hand, is the answer of the Aquino Administration to create employment and improve infrastructure to improve the country’s economy.

In an interview, PPA general manager Atty. Juan Sta. Ana explained that at least five ports are up for privatization in the next couple of months which is mostly concentrated in the Visayas and Mindanao region.

“We are really reducing government intervention in running the ports and have the private sector run it,” Sta. Ana stressed.

“Almost all the ports are expected to be privatized but we are focusing first on the major ports including those with private cargo-handling operators,” Sta. Ana said.

“Hopefully we could generate enough interest from the private sectors particularly from operators that are already running cargo-handling at the ports,” Sta. Ana said.

Initially, the PPA is looking at privatizing management and operations of the Ports of Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, General Santos and Ozamiz before trying to privatize secondary ports.

Cargo-handling operations in at least three of these ports are run by private operators such as Davao, which is being run by a subsidiary of International Container Terminal Services, Inc., Cagayan de Oro with Oro Port, and General Santos that is jointly operated by Asian Terminals, Inc. and ICTSI.

These ports handle the bulk of local and international trade in Visayas and Mindanao.

For Davao, total cargo throughput is anticipated to post a modest increase to reach about 3.708 million metric tons this year. Conventional cargo at the port is projected to increase by another 25,000 metric tons (MT) this year while boxed cargo will swell again by some 125,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to 309,792 TEUs.

For Cagayan de Oro, total cargo throughput is expected to increase by some 150,000 MT this year wherein conventional cargo is expected to increase by some 50,000 MT and containerized cargo by some 120,000 TEUs.

Ozamiz, however, anticipates a drop in total cargo throughput in the port to the usual 478,658 MT to only 353,297 metric tons this year due to the expected decline in domestic cargo throughput from the usual 193,602 MT to only 128,653 MT by this year. Foreign traffic, on the other hand, is also expected to remain insignificant.

Ozamiz’s cargo volume is on a sharp fall since 2004 after registering modest growth a year earlier. Since then, the port posted significant drops in total cargo volume.

For Iloilo, the PPA expects growth this year to 2.383 mmt by 2010 wherein 90% of it will come from the domestic trade of about 897,747 MT while foreign cargoes will be at 68,417 MT. Boxed cargoes is also expected to be at 85,374 TEUs this year.

For General Santos, it expects to increase cargo throughput to 2.630 mmt this year. Domestic cargoes will be at 472,814 MT and foreign cargoes will be at 78,240 MT while boxed cargoes is expected to reach 121,397 TEUs. ?