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Cargo volume at Mindanao ports is expected to slide 5% to 71.058 million metric tons in 2024 from last year’s 74.76 million MT
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For the first half, Mindanao ports processed 35.529 million MT and 695,643 twenty-equivalent units in the first half
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Northern Mindanao ports accounted for much of the total volume
Cargo volume at Mindanao ports is expected to slide 5% to 71.058 million metric tons in 2024 from last year’s 74.76 million MT, according to a presentation by Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) Port Management Office-Davao port manager Analee Aguilar at the recent 5th Mindanao Shipping Conference organized by PortCalls in Davao City.
WATCH: Highlights of Mindanao Shipping Conference
Mindanao ports comprise two groups: Northern Mindanao (Agusan, Cagayan De Oro/Misamis Oriental, Lanao del Norte/Iligan, Misamis Occidental/Ozamiz and Surigao) and Southern Mindanao (Davao, Soccsksargen, Zamboanga and Zamboanga del Norte).
Northern Mindanao ports account for much of the total volume out of the entire Mindanao. For the whole of 2024, they are expected to process 11% less volume at 41.928 million MT from 47.317 million MT in 2023.
On the other hand, Southern Mindanao ports could see 6% higher throughput at 29.13 million MT in 2024 from last year’s 27.442 million MT.
For the first half of the year, Mindanao ports handled 35.529 million MT, of which 20.964 million MT were accounted for by Northern Mindanao ports and 14.565 million MT by Southern Mindanao ports.
In terms of container traffic, Mindanao ports handled 695,643 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the first half of 2024, with the year-end total expected at 1.391 million TEUs.
Of the total, Northern Mindanao ports recorded 175,577 TEUs and forecast to process 351,154 TEUs for the full year, 1.2% higher than last year’s 346,882 TEUs.
Southern Mindanao ports, meanwhile, posted 520,066 TEUs in the first half of the year. For the whole year, they are expected to see 2.8% volume at 1.040 million TEUs from last year’s 1.070 million TEUs.
Roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) traffic in the first half was at 1.643 million units, 831,567 of which were accounted for by Northern Mindanao ports and 811,823 by Southern Mindanao ports.
For the full year, ro-ro traffic is eyed to grow 2.2% to 3.287 million from 3.217 million in 2023.
In 2023, the following were the top commodities and their respective ports:
- mineral ore products and scraps – Surigao and Agusan ports
- fruits and vegetables – Davao
- fuel and its by-products – Soccsksargen, Misamis Oriental/Cagayan de Oro, and Zamboanga del Norte
- cement – Zamboanga
- crude minerals – Lanao del Norte/Iligan
- coconut and its by products – Misamis Occidental/Ozamiz ports
In terms of shipcalls, Mindanao ports recorded 69,306 vessel calls for the first half of the year, 33,517 of which were in Northern Mindanao ports and 35,789 in Southern Mindanao ports.
Northern Mindanao and Southern Mindanao ports are seen to handle 64,034 vessels and 71,578 vessels, respectively, this year, for a total of 135,612 vessel calls, 8.7% higher than the 124,800 vessel calls in 2023.
Passenger traffic reached 9.108 million from January to June 2024, with Zamboanga port handling the highest traffic at 1.946 million, followed by Surigao port’s 1.728 million and Davao port’s 1.531 million.
For the whole of 2024, Mindanao ports are expected to handle 18.217 million passengers, 5.6% up from 17.249 million passengers serviced last year.
Infrastructure
Aside from handling cargoes and passengers, Aguilar said PPA is “bolstering maritime infrastructure, fueling economic growth in Mindanao.”
She noted that PPA has completed eight projects in Mindanao since last year. These are:
- extension of reinforced concrete (RC) wharf and reclamation of backup area in Iligan port
- construction of backup area and RC wharf on fill at Ozamiz port
- construction of gate complex at Cagayan de Oro port
- port improvement project at Isabela port in Basilan
- extension of the RC wharf in Cantilan port in Surigao del Sur
- construction of cruise ship port at Jubang port in Dapa, Surigao del Norte
- rehabilitation project at Lipata port in Surigao del Norte
- upgrading of the general cargo berth at Davao-Sasa port
Aguilar said the upgraded general cargo berth at Davao-Sasa port will allow the terminal to handle bigger vessels. She noted they are just waiting for advise to turn over operations of the upgraded general cargo berth, completed last May, to the port’s concessionaire.
Aside from the completed projects, PPA has 11 ongoing projects in Mindanao totaling P3.7 billion. Eight are in Northern Mindanao and three in Southern Mindanao:
- expansion and improvement of Plaridel port
- construction of cargo port in Jubang
- construction of a passenger terminal building in Zamboanga port
- expansion and restoration at Malalag port
- expansion of Doña Helene and Balingoan ports
In terms of soft infrastructure, Aguilar said PPA offers online services, including the Port Operations and Receipting for Terminal System; Electronic Accreditation System; e-Permit Management System; Transport Accreditation, Permit and Pass for Ports System; and Port User & Locators Satisfaction Outlook. – Roumina Pablo
