With Banana Exports Swelling DIPSSCOR installs new RTGs at Davao Port

Port operator International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) boosted the cargo-handling capability of its Davao Terminal in its bid to accommodate the increasing cargo volume in the area.

ICTSI, through its subsidiary Davao Integrated Port and Stevedoring Services Corp. (DIPSSCOR)—cargo handling operator of Sasa Wharf in Davao—installed three new rubber tired gantries (RTGs).

The Port of Davao, meanwhile, handles about 250,000 containers annually. The port is also key transit point for the country’s banana exports.

According to DIPSSCOR general manager Jose Manuel de Jesus the new RTGs will improve terminal operations with faster and safer movements of containers in the container yard (CY).

The RTGs, the first state of the art container handling equipment to be introduced in the port, were manufactured by Mitsubishi and re-configured by Portek Systems and Equipment Pte. Ltd. of Singapore to suit the CY of Sasa Wharf.

“The RTGs are part of DIPSSCOR’s commitment to transform the Port of Davao into one of the leading ports not only of the Philippines but also of the whole of Association of Southeast Asian Nations,” de Jesus said.

“We recognize that the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has identified Davao as among the country’s 10 ports up for development and modernization, and these RTGs are just one of our contributions in realizing PPA’s vision,” de Jesus added.

Each of the RTGs, on the other hand, has a stacking capacity of one over five high and can work six containers-wide plus truck lane. Each is equipped with a fuel saving and energy storage device as well as automatic steering using global positioning and automatic container positioning systems. Its telescopic spreader is capable of lifting 41 metric tons.

Earlier, DIPSSCOR also took over operations of a new reefer facility at the Sasa Wharf. The reefer facility, installed by the Davao port management office of the PPA, is seen to boost handling of the growing fruit trade in the Port of Davao.

The reefer facility covers an area of 270 square meters, and can handle a total of 144 reefer containers. It is located at the northern portion of Sasa Wharf. ?