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The Manila North Harbour Port, Inc. is proposing a 22.29% upward adjustment in cranage rates and a 17.67% increase in rates for 13 other services at NorthPort, the domestic terminal at Manila North Harbor
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The petition is intended to recover higher costs driven by increases in consumer price index through the years
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Stakeholders have until November 13 to submit their position papers on the petition
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The last rate increase in cranage and for the 13 other services was in 2023
NorthPort, the domestic terminal at Manila North Harbor, may soon charge more for cranage and other services. Its operator, Manila North Harbour Port, Inc. (MNHPI), is seeking a 22.29% increase in cranage rates and a 17.67% increase for 13 other services.
The petition “is not a request for price increase for margin expansion, but a recovery of costs driven by CPI (consumer price index) increases through the years”, MNHPI legal department head Mark Vincent Escalona said in a presentation during the Philippine Ports Authority’s (PPA) virtual public hearing on the petition on November 6.
Stakeholders have until November 13 to submit their position papers on the petition.
MNHPI’s petition is in accordance with PPA Administrative Order (AO) No. 02-2018, which prescribes the standard and uniform formula and procedures for cargo-handling tariff adjustment, and PPA AO 11-2019, which provides the omnibus rules of procedures on private service provider-initiated applications for new tariff and /or adjustment of fees and charges.
Under AO 02-2018, the cargo-handling/terminal operator may apply for a cargo-handling tariff adjustment if the CPI has increased by at least 5% within a three-year period.
CPI, computed and provided by the Philippine Statistics Authority, is a statistical measure of the average retail pricing of goods and services commonly purchased by a particular group of people in a particular area.
According to Escalona, their petition for cranage rate increase covers CPI adjustment from 2021 to 2025, as the last cranage rate adjustment approved by PPA in 2023 covered the CPI only up to 2020.
The CPI adjustment from 2021 to 2025 was computed at 22.29%.
Similarly, the petition for the 13 other services, meanwhile, covers CPI adjustment from 2022 to 2025, as the last increase approved by PPA in 2023 covered the CPI only up to 2021. CPI adjustment from 2022 to 2025 was at 17.67%.
Based on the proposal, cranage rate for NorthPort will be as follows:
- 20-footer and below loaded container – P1,905.89 from the current P1,558.50
- 20-footer and below empty container – P1,602.61 from the current P1,310.50
- Above 20-footer loaded container – P2,665.92 from the current P2,180
- Above 20-footer empty container – P2,065.48 from the current P1,689
Based on Escalona’s presentation, the additional fee on basic commodities by the proposed cranage rate increase will be the following:
- Milk per 900 gram pack – P0.016
- Noodles per 85 gram pack – P0.001
- Flour, rice, banana, sugar, corngrits, dressed chicken per kilogram – P0.017
- Canned fish per 155 gram can – P0.03
- Edible oil per 1 liter pack – P0.017
- Egg per 50 gram piece – P0.001
The 13 other services, meanwhile, include hustling of containers, lift-on lift-off, administrative fee (shut-out/re-voyage), non-standard lifts, crane standby, extra labor services, equipment rental/hire, restowing of containers (via dock/bay-to-bay), weighing fees (non-mandatory weighing), lifting and closing of hatch covers, lids and supporting beams, handling of gearbox (ship’s gear/shore crane), dangerous cargo area fee (containerized/non-palletized/palletized), and collection of garbage.
These additional services are not part of the regular services, but will only be rendered upon the request of port users, which include shippers, consignees, and shipping lines.
Escalona noted that MNHPI has to date invested P13.52 billion in capital expenditures for NorthPort, and will have an additional capital expenditure of about P3.6 billion in the coming years.
Escalona noted projects and initiatives undertaken at NorthPort over the past years, including, among others, improvements in the passenger terminal building and container terminal, improved parking area, reclamation of Slip 15 to provide more yard space, acquisition of high-capacity equipment, reefer facilities, one-stop processing center, and information technology-related investments.
As part of the International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) Group, MNHPI has recently rolled out its mobile application called ICTSI Radar, which is a secure digital platform that provides port users and cargo owners with real time visibility across terminal transactions.
As part of its sustainability initiatives, MNHPI took delivery of four brand new units of near-zero emission hybrid rubber-tired gantry (RTG) cranes; converted six units of RTG cranes from diesel to hybrid system, with seven additional units for conversion; solar lighting along the terminal perimeter walls; and LED lighting at the terminal yard and other major port equipment.
Another sustainability initiative is the Terminal 1 project involving the strengthening of the deck and underwater structures via the installation of additional piles supporting the container cranes. Escalona said this is a proactive approach in future-proofing the terminal against large-scale natural disasters, such as catastrophic seismic events and other extreme weather disturbances.
Asked about improvement in efficiencies, Escalona said there have been improvements following investments in innovations implemented at the terminal. He also noted that with the cranes, NorthPort can handle cargoes from a minimum of 20 moves per hour, as compared to the traditional mode of handling that provides productivity of only about four to six moves per hour.
“NorthPort is committed to continuously invest and modernize the port of Manila North Harbor and to deliver efficiencies and foster turnaround time to our valued port users,” Escalona said.
Last year, MNHPI also requested a 5.26% increase in storage charges for containerized cargoes and 5.21% upward adjustment for non-containerized cargoes to align NorthPort’s rates with that of other PPA domestic ports.—Roumina Pablo
