Gov’t, private sector partnership key in addressing trade bottlenecks

DOTC undersecretary for Project Implementation and Special Concerns Julianito Bucayan, Jr. (center) led the ceremonial ribbon-cutting ceremony during the 8th Ports and Shipping Conference and Exhibition held at The Peninsula Manila Hotel in Makati last week assisted by PPA GM Juan C. Sta. Ana (in black) and Transport Events managing director Rory Doyle.


FEBRUARY 20, 2015, MANILA—Transport undersecretary Julianito Bucayan, Jr. stressed the government and private sector partnership in addressing bottleneck issues clouting the Philippines.

Speaking before the delegates to the 8th Ports and Shipping Conference held in Manila recently, Bucayan said both sectors should truly recognize and effectively play their role into coming up with a win-win solution in addressing every concern affecting the Philippine supply chain.

He added that a sound and harmonious relationship between the government and the private sector is a key factor in making the country move towards achieving its dream of being a major global player in the shipping and shipbuilding industries.

“One of the good examples of a good government and private sector partnership is the issue of port congestion wherein both sectors agreed to sacrifice certain aspects of their operations to solve port congestion,” Bucayan explained.

“As we continue to move forward, both the government and the private sector agreed to continue to give timely solutions in order to prevent such situation to happen again,” Bucayan stressed.

“We believe that if Government and the private sector have sound relationship, we can easily address issues of trade bottlenecks not only the Philippines but also in the BIMP-EAGA as it offers very good growth areas now and in the future,” Bucayan added.

PPA General Manager Juan C. Sta. Ana, for his part, reverberated the claims of Bucayan who heads the Project Implementation and Special Concerns office of the Department of Transportation and Communications.

“This Ports and Shipping Conference will tackle and open up new trends and opportunities in the ports and shipping sector and PPA is fully committed to achieve those trends and opportunities,” Sta. Ana said.

“Government and private sector partnership is vital particularly as we gear towards green and sustainable port operations as well as adopting best practices and norms of today towards a fully revolutionized port operation,” Sta. Ana added.

As a testament to a good public-private partnership, utilization level at the Manila South Harbor (MSH) and the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) continue to dwindle down to normal levels.

As of Friday, utilization is at 76.5% or approximately 62,300 twenty-foot equivalent units (a combination of laden and empty containers) are inside the MSH and the MICT. The level is 3.5 percentage points lower than the 80% utilization level target set by the Cabinet Cluster on Port Congestion. Yard utilization level has been hovering around 75% to 79% since the Papal visit.

The combined number of vessels waiting at pilot station likewise declined to five excluding vessels currently at berth with a combined total of 10 ships. Vessel turnaround time still remains at two days while the average yard productivity for both ports is at 18 moves per hour per crane.

“The continued decline in the utilization level of the Manila ports is a clear manifestation of a healthy government and private sector partnership,” Sta. Ana said.