-
The Philippine Ports Authority approved the takeover of Pagadian port by Mega Lifters Cargo Handling Corp.
-
Mega Lifters won the 15-year port terminal management contract for the Zamboanga del Sur gateway
-
The operator won the contract with a proposed concession fee of P132.167 million
-
In a PPA notice to proceed signed on December 2, Mega Lifters was instructed to start with the work and perform services under the terms and conditions of the contract, also signed on the same date
-
The Pagadian port contract covers the management and operation of the cargo-handling, roll-on/roll-off, and other port-related services at the port
Mega Lifters Cargo Handling Corp. is taking over the operation and management of Pagadian port under a 15-year port terminal management contract.
In a Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) notice to proceed signed on December 2, Mega Lifters was instructed to start with the work and perform services for the Zamboanga del Sur gateway under the terms and conditions of its contract, also signed on the same date.
Mega Lifters was the lone bidder for the Pagadian port contract during the April 11 opening of bids, with a proposed concession fee of P132.167 million. Its notice of award was signed on May 27, 2022.
The Pagadian port contract covers the management and operation of the cargo-handling, roll-on/roll-off (RoRo), and other port-related services at the ports.
The projects involve stevedoring services, Ro-Ro cargo services, bagging services, container terminal management, storage management, waste and shore reception facility management, water distribution services, weighbridge facility, and ancillary and other related services.
The bidding was conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using non-discretionary pass/fail criterion as specified in PPA Administrative Order (AO) No. 12-2018, as amended.
AO 12-2018 provides guidelines for selecting and awarding contracts under PPA’s Port Terminal Management Regulatory Framework (PTMRF), which outlines the new rules for terminal management contracts.
Pagadian port falls under Tier 3 of the PTMRF, which means the contractor’s investments include above-ground fixtures and semi-fixtures, and mobile handling equipment (e.g. passenger terminal building, cranes, forklifts, trucks).
Pagadian port handled 24,374 metric tons of domestic cargoes and services 253 ships in 2021. In the first nine months of 2022, it serviced 37,624 metric tons of domestic cargoes and 161 ships.
Aside from Pagadian port, Mega Lifters also won the 15-year contract of Pasig River port under the PTMRF.
PPA since 2020 had already bidded out and awarded 18 ports under Tier 3, including Puerto Princesa, Ormoc, Tabaco, Legazpi, Zamboanga, Iligan, Ozamiz, Calapan, Tacloban, Nasipit, Matnog, Fort San Pedro, Pulupandan, Surigao, Masao, Tagbilaran, Pagadian, and Pasig River ports. It has also bidded out and awarded one Tier 2 port, Davao Sasa port.
Then PPA officer in charge Francisquiel Mancile in a press briefing last September announced that PPA has put on hold the bidding of ports under its PTMRF pending review, in compliance with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s order to reduce transport costs and make shipping fares affordable.
Several stakeholders and business groups, including the National Economic and Development Authority-Regional Development Councils VIII and IX, however, have earlier requested PPA to suspend—pending review and consultation—the implementation of new tariffs under PTMRF as they are so much higher than previous rates.
In a Lower House hearing last November, re-appointed PPA general manager Jay Daniel Santiago, while acknowledging that the rates, particularly in Zamboanga port, have increased, claimed that cargo-handling cost only accounts for less than 5% of the total logistics cost, and the increase in logistics or commodities costs cannot be attributed solely in the higher cargo-handling rates.
Santiago also said PPA has already privatized 19 ports under PTMRF, and is in the process of privatizing more ports. – Roumina Pablo
RELATED READ: Mega Lifters bags Pasig River, Pagadian port contracts
