The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), Ports District Office for Manila/Northern Luzon is the governing body for the Port of Manila. The PPA is provides reliable services and sustains the development of port communities throughout Manila and their environment. The vision for the Philippine Ports Authority is to assure that by the year 2030, customers are experiencing complete and lasting productivity, comfort, efficiency, safety, security, and connectivity.

Before the Philippine Port Authority was created, port administration was part of the country's revenue collection function managed by the Bureau of Customs. Harbor and port maintenance was carried out by the Bureau of Public Works. In the early 1970s, the need for an umbrella organization that could handle long-range planning was apparent, as there were more than 590 national and municipal ports and 200 private ports in Manila.

The Philippine Ports Authority was created in 1975 by Presidential Decree that authorized the PPA to implement an integrated program of planning, development, funding, operation, and maintenance of ports and port districts in Manila. A 1978 Executive Order amended the PPA charge to include responsibility for port police authority and authorization to collect administrative fines for violations of rules and regulations governing Manila ports. The Order also created the National Ports Advisory Council to strengthen collaboration between the private sector and the government. In 1987, Executive Order No. 159 made the PPA responsible for all construction projects in Manila's port system.

The Port of Manila is the busiest seaport in the Philippines. The Port of Manila is the country's primary international gateway for shipping. Having moved over 2.8 million TEUs in 2009, the Port of Manila was the thirty-seventh busiest container port in the world, as reported by the American Association of Port Authorities.

The Port of Manila is located on the southeastern shores of Manila Bay. The Port of Manila Bay entrance is 19 kilometers (12 miles) wide, and the Bay expands to 48 kilometers (30 miles) in width. Manila Bay and the Port of Manila are surrounded by volcanic peaks and tropical foliage. The Port of Manila is about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Bataan Peninsula, location of the historic World War II Bataan Death March.

The Port of Manila is made up of three areas: Manila North, Manila South, and Manila. Manila North Harbor is located in the Tondo District of Manila. The Port of Manila North Harbor is the biggest and primary port in the Philippines for domestic cargoes. The multi-purpose terminal in the Port of Manila's North Harbor is used to handle general and containerized cargo and passengers.

The Port of Manila North Harbor covers about 52.5 hectares of land and contains about 5.2 thousand meters (17 thousand feet) of quays with ten berths and eight quays that can accommodate a wide range of inter-island vessels. The quays contain 54 berthing areas, and there are areas for rolling cargoes at all piers.

The Manila North Harbour Port Inc. was organized under national laws to operate the Port of Manila North Harbor. It is a joint venture between the country's biggest bulk and break-bulk port operator, Harbour Centre Port Terminal Inc., and Petron Corporation, an industry leader in the oil and fuel sectors.

The Port of Manila South Harbor is operated by Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI), a publicly-listed port investor, operator, and developer in the Philippines. ATI operates the Port of Manila South Harbor's container and domestic terminals and provides general stevedoring services.

ATI serves domestic freight operations by transporting containerized cargoes from vessel to a container yard with capacity for 350 thousand TEUs per year. In addition to containers, ATI handles general and bulk cargoes, roll-on/roll-off cargoes, and passengers at the Port of Manila South Harbour.

The Port of Manila South Harbor covers a total area of 85 hectares divided into the Old Port Zone and the Expanded Port Zone. The Port of Manila South Harbor is protected by rock barriers that enclose about 600 hectares of anchorage. The Port of Manila South Harbor has five finger piers with a total length of over two thousand meters (almost 6.9 thousand feet) with alongside depths from 9 to 11 meters (29.5 to 36.1 feet).

Located between the Port of Manila's North and South Harbors is the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) operated by International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI). The ICTSI was established in the Philippines in 1987 and has since expanded to operate container terminals throughout the Philippines and worldwide. The Asian Development Bank has recognized the ICTSI as one of the world's top five maritime terminal operators.

In 2010, the Port of Manila had over 14.7 thousand ship calls including 4471 foreign vessels and 10,248 domestic vessels. The Port of Manila handled 47.4 million metric tons of cargo, including 29.2 million tons of foreign cargo and 18.2 million tons of domestic cargo. In 2010, the Port of Manila handled almost 3.2 million TEUs of containerized cargo, including 2.4 million TEUs of foreign containers and 744.7 thousand TEUs of domestic containers. More than 1.8 million passengers called at the Port of Manila in 2010, including 897.8 thousand passengers disembarking and 929 thousand passengers embarking at the Port of Manila.

In 2010, the Port of Manila North Harbor had a total 4967 vessel calls, including 531 foreign ships and 4436 domestic ships. The Port of Manila North Harbor handled a total of 16.1 million metric tons of cargo in 2010, including 4.2 million tons of foreign cargo and 11.9 tons of domestic cargo. The Port of Manila North Harbor handled 553.5 thousand TEUs of domestic containers in 2010. Almost 822 thousand passengers passed through the Port of Manila North Harbor in 2010, including 375.8 thousand who disembarked and 446.2 thousand who embarked.

The Port of Manila South Harbor served 7810 vessels in 2010, including 2101 foreign ships and 5709 domestic ships, and handled a total of 13 million metric tons of cargo. Cargo volume included 7.6 million tons of foreign cargo and 5.4 million tons of domestic cargo. The Port of Manila South Harbor handled 988.3 thousand TEUs of containerized cargo in 2010, including 886.5 thousand foreign TEUs and 101.8 TEUs of domestic TEUs. The Port of Manila South Harbor also served over a million passengers in 2010, including 522 thousand who disembarked and 482.7 who embarked.

• Container terminals

The Port of Manila International Container Terminal is the busiest, biggest, and most modern container terminal in the Philippines. In 2010, the Port of Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) welcomed more than 1.9 thousand vessels, including 1839 foreign ships and 103 domestic ships. The Port of Manila's MICT handled a total of 18.3 million metric tons of cargo in 2010, including 17.4 million tons of foreign cargo and 913.4 thousand tons of domestic cargo. The MICT in the Port of Manila handled over 1.6 million TEUs of containerized cargo in 2010, including more than 1.5 million TEUs of foreign containers and 89.5 thousand domestic containers.

With annual capacity for 1.5 million TEUs, the Port of Manila's MICT is operated by International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI). The MICT is the company's flagship operation. Opening for business in 1988, the MICT represents 65% of the country's market share.

Most of the cargo at the Port of Manila's MICT is in international containers, but the MICT also handles non-containerized and general cargo at its basin anchorage. Guaranteeing more than 30 moves per hour per quay crane, the Port of Manila's MICT is the country's most efficient terminal facility. Fully integrated administrative and operational systems support continued efficiency.

The MICT can accommodate five to six vessels docking at the same time. The MICT in the Port of Manila maintains both container- and bulk-handling equipment. Container-handling equipment includes ten quay cranes, 37 rubber-tyred gantry cranes, 92 prime movers, 15 stackers, four side lifters, 51 forklifts, 182 trucks and tractors, one top loader, and ten container weighbridges. Bulk-handling equipment at the Port of Manila's MICT includes four vac-u-vators, eight clamshells, two payloaders, and two mooring buoys.

The Port of Manila's South Harbor International Container Terminal (SHICT) has capacity to handle 850 thousand TEUs of containerized cargo per year. The terminal's operational area includes Piers 3 and 5 in the Port of Manila. The SHICT has seven berths with a total quay length of 975 meters (3.2 thousand feet) with alongside depth of 14 meters (45.9 feet). The Port of Manila's SHICT's berths can accommodate 26 vessels at the same time.

Facilities at the Port of Manila's SHICT include a container freight station, a 30-hectare container yard, areas reserved for refrigerated and designated cargoes, an operations center, a truck holding area, automated exit gates, and radiation portal monitors. The SHICT in the Port of Manila is equipped with seven high-capacity ship-to-shore gantry quay cranes, rubber-tyred gantry cranes, stackers and loaders, tractors, and mobile X-ray machines. The SHICT is supported by a variety of information systems that help manage and direct cargo movements within the Port of Manila.

The Port of Manila's South Harbor contains a total of 65 acres of storage area for containers, including 50 acres for foreign and international containers and 15 acres for domestic containers. The Container Freight Station in the Port of Manila South Harbor covers 3527 square meters (almost 38 thousand square feet). The container yards cover 33 acres for laden foreign containers, 15 acres for laden domestic containers, and 15 acres for empty foreign containers. There are also 3199 square meters (almost 38 thousand square feet) available for reefers in the Port of Manila South Harbor.

• Bulk and breakbulk terminals

Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) handles general cargoes in the Port of Manila South Harbor through its General Stevedoring Division (GSD). Handling general cargoes at Piers 9 and 13, facilities include two covered warehouses and a vehicle UV-net shelter facility. In addition to a variety of cargo-handling equipment, Piers 9 and 13 in the Port of Manila are equipped with 3- to 22-ton forklifts and a 65-ton floating crane barge. Information systems track cargo, monitor truck loads, and manage payment and other administrative data.

The Port of Manila South Harbor Domestic Terminal consists of Pier 15 (with five berths), the Eva Macapagal Super Terminal for passengers, and a container yard. This Port of Manila terminal is equipped with 3- to 22-ton forklifts, internal transfer vehicles, and X-ray machines for baggage.

Cargoes handled by the GSD in the Port of Manila South Harbor include timber, motor vehicle, steel, livestock, bulk grains, heavy lift and project cargoes. The GSD also offers offshore handling for conventional cargoes at 18 anchorage berths inside the Port of Manila South Harbor breakwater.

There are about 11 acres of storage for general cargo in the Port of Manila South Harbor. The Pier 9 Stacking Area covers five acres, and the Pier 9 Shed covers 4137 square meters (44.5 thousand square feet).

The Port of Manila Pier 13 Stacking Area covers 12.6 thousand square meters (almost 136 thousand square feet), and the Pier 13 Shed covers 2882 square meters (about 31 thousand square feet). Warehouse 1 in the Port of Manila South Harbor covers 5330 square meters (over 57 thousand square feet).

• Cruise terminals

In the Port of Manila South Harbor, the Eva Macapagal Super Terminal is the country's newest and largest passenger terminal. Located at Pier 15, the Eva Macapagal Super Terminal covers 2878 square meters (almost 31 thousand square feet) and can accommodate the largest passenger vessels. This Port of Manila passenger terminal is open all day every day to serve inter-island travelers with an air-conditioned 1700-seat lounge with fast food outlets, water, televisions, public telephones, clean restrooms, and a clinic.

The Port of Manila's passenger ferry service terminal is located between Piers 13 and 15 in the South Harbor. It is the landing point for small craft serving ships, crews, harbor pilots, customs and quarantine officers, and ships agents. The terminal also serves passengers traveling between vessels at the anchorage and the Port of Manila.

Review and History    Port Commerce    Cruising and Travel    Satellite Map    Contact Information