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Phividec Industrial Authority is pushing for expansion of Mindanao Container Terminal’s berth by another 300 meters
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PIA Administrator Atty. Joseph Donato Bernedo said they are gathering endorsements for a grant to fund a project feasibility study
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Bernedo said the expansion will lead to more businesses and investments in the Phividec Industrial Estate-Misamis Oriental Special Economic Zone
The Phividec Industrial Authority (PIA) is pushing for expansion of Mindanao Container Terminal’s (MCT) berth by another 300 meters.
PIA Administrator Atty. Joseph Donato Bernedo, in a presentation during a forum hosted by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, said they are gathering endorsement for a grant to fund the project feasibility study.
“This is a priority project because even as far back as 2017…Mindanao Container Terminal has already reached its maximum capacity and it’s really high time to expand the port,” Bernedo said. He added that the expansion will lead to more businesses and investments in the Phividec Industrial Estate-Misamis Oriental Special Economic Zone (PIE-MO SEZ).
MCT is located at PIE-MO SEZ, which is managed, supervised, and administered by PIA. The terminal is operated and managed by Mindanao International Container Terminal Services, Inc., a business unit of International Container Terminal Services, Inc.
Plans to expand MCT have been on the table for years, supported by locators who would benefit from bigger and more cost-effective vessels that the expansion can accommodate. PIA earlier said it has room for expansion.
Aside from talking with different stakeholders, including the Japan International Cooperation Agency, PIA is coordinating with the Department of Transportation so that the berth expansion can be made a priority project.
Bernedo noted the project has already been approved as a priority project by the National Economic and Development Authority-Regional Development Council 10.
He said the feasibility study may take about half a year to complete; the expansion may take another two years.
MCT currently has a 300-meter long berth plus 100 meters on both sides through dolphin moor and inland bollard. In 2022, MCT handled a total of 470 vessels, of which 281 were foreign and 189 were domestic.
The port is connected to Asian markets and local ports through various foreign and domestic shipping lines calling the terminal, including Maersk, Evergreen, CMA CGM, APL, SITC, Wan Hai, and Lorenzo Shipping Corp.
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The terminal handles exports such as canned and fresh pineapples, lumber, abaca pulps, activated carbon, aquamarine products, banana, desiccated coconuts, dried mango slices, and other agricultural products and by-products. For imports, it handles food products from the United States, pastry baked products, rice, food preparation items, dairy products from the New Zealand and Australia, soya beans, juice concentrates, milk fat, coffee, and sugar. – Roumina Pablo
