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MANILA, Philippines – International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) and Shell Philippines have donated equipment and money to help maintain the port of Tacloban.
The aid allows the port to remain open and operational for at least 6 more months as conditions in Tacloban slowly improve following the onslaught of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in early November.
According to the Juan Sta. Ana, Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) general manager, Shell donated P6 million for use at the port in the next 6 months.
The port itself is currently being maintained by ICTSI using $5 million worth of equipment while the existing cargo handling opeartor, Leyte Integrated Port Services Inc., recovers from the damage the typhoon wrought on its equipment.
Sta. Ana said Shell Philippines chairman Edgar Chua and ICTSI vice president for Asia Christian Gonzalez will sign a memorandum of undertaking this month.
Shell’s donation was part of a $2.5-million relief effort made available by parent Royal Dutch Shell plc through the Pilipinas Shell Foundation Inc., as well as via other agencies, such as the local Red Cross organization. The overall donation is meant for long-term assistance to communities hit hard by Yolanda.
ICTSI has brought in 12 forklifts of different sizes, 7 generator sets for electricity, 6 tower lights for nighttime operations, a number of reach stackers to help with cargo mobility, as well as 5 payloaders for clearing operations.
A mobile harbor crane has also been brought in for loading and offloading of containers. The crane will be useul in the immediate future as Tacloban port will receive around 200 twenty-foot equivalent units of relief goods from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, totaling around 360,000 family packs. The packs will be brought in by Oceanic Container Lines Inc. and Meridian Cargo Forwarders Inc.
Sta. Ana noted the aid is a big boost for the port as it gears up to become a relief hub for repacking and release of relief goods after the closing of some repacking centers in Manila. “In a situation like this, sustainability is key and ICTSI and Shell lending their helping hands guarantees that, thus, accelerating our ability to quickly recover from the damaged brought about by typhoon Yolanda,” Sta. Ana stressed. – Rappler.com
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