RAZON-LED International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) has secured a 25-year extension of its concession to operate the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), allowing the country’s largest container terminal to remain under its management until May 2063.
The company said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that it had signed an agreement with the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) extending the concession by 25 years from its previous expiration in May 2038.
“The renewal underscores ICTSI’s long-term commitment to further developing MICT to support the continued growth of Philippine trade and the country’s economic development,” ICTSI said.
ICTSI secured the original concession to operate MICT through an international tender in 1988. The contract provided for an initial 25-year term, extendable by up to another 25 years.
MICT, one of three terminals at the Port of Manila, handles about 70% of the port’s container volumes and is the Philippines’ largest and busiest container terminal, according to ICTSI.
The concession extension comes as ICTSI continues expanding the terminal’s capacity and upgrading its infrastructure through the Berth 8 project.
The company said Berth 8 is being developed to accommodate container vessels with capacities of up to 18,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).
The expansion is expected to add 200,000 TEUs of annual capacity, increasing MICT’s total handling capacity to 3.5 million TEUs a year.
Announced in 2024, the second phase of the Berth 8 project includes the construction of a 300-meter wharf and a 10-hectare container yard.
Berth 8 will also be equipped with three quay cranes capable of handling vessels with capacities of up to 18,000 TEUs. The cranes are expected to arrive in 2027.
ICTSI operates 33 terminals in 20 countries across six continents.
At the local bourse on Thursday, ICTSI shares closed unchanged at P980 apiece. — Ashley Erika O. Jose
