State-run Philippine Ports Authority said it is spending P6 billion this year to expand government-owned ports nationwide.
The port authority said the P6 billion budget would finance locally-funded projects, such as the upgrade and rehabilitation of ports in Iloilo, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga.
PPA said as of end-March, it had completed nine infrastructure projects worth P313.03 million.
PPA said it was also installing vessel traffic management system in ports of Roxas in Oriental Mindor, Iloilo, Davao and Zamboanga.
VTMS has the capability to identify vessels and to strategically plan their movement, which is critical for the safety, security and environmental protection of the country’s ports and harbors.
PPA general manager Jay Daniel Santiago said the agency was prioritizing the safety in port operations and value-added services in different ports for the convenience of passengers and better efficiency and productivity for cargo operations.
“I am also ordering the review of the current permitting processes of the agency and will personally look for ways to further reduce the burden in getting permits from PPA,” Santiago said.
Santiago said he also asked private sector service providers in different ports to fix all defective facilities and put them in optimum level to reduce unnecessary expense that was oftentimes passed on to passengers, resulting in higher ticket prices and logistics cost.
“We are trying to rationalize everything that will translate to the convenience of passengers, cargo owners, logistics service providers and also to all PPA personnel,” Santiago said.
PPA earlier reported a net profit of P1.93 billion in the first three months of 2016, down by 7 percent from P2.07 billion in the same period last year.
The port authority’s gross revenues declined 6.1 percent to P3.19 billion in the first quarter from last year’s P3.4 billion.
Revenues from port operations dropped 6.3 percent to P3.16 billion, while profits derived from storage shrank to P208.62 million from P651.07 million.
PPA’s fund management income improved 6.5 percent to P24.49 million from P23 million last year.