DICT eyes berth 4 operations by 2020

DAVAO CITY — Floirendo-owned Davao International Container Terminal, Inc. (DICT) is preparing for expansion with the operation of a fourth berth and container yard expansion at its port in Panabo City.
DICT Vice-president Bonifacio B. Licayan said they are already working on permits and are aiming to begin construction work by next year.
“We are eyeing to start operating berth 4 in early 2020,” Mr. Licayan said in an interview during a recent shipping conference held in Davao City.
For this year, Mr. Licayan said they are looking at handling cargo volume of up to 400,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEUs), higher than last year’s 345,000 TEUs.
“Actually, the port can do a lot more, up to 600,000 TEUs, only that a vessel should find a particular window and everybody wants on a weekend,” Mr. Licayan said.
He said the main obstacle in scheduling is accommodating two large vessels at the same time.
“You now have problems of matching two vessels, if you have one big one you can only accommodate a very small vessel on the other berth, but if you have regular-sized vessel, you can readily accommodate two vessels at a time,” he explained.
DICT currently has a berth stretching to 423 meters and an average draft of 15 meters at fender line, making it the only port in Mindanao that can accommodate Post-Panamax vessels. — Maya M. Padillo