Project Title & Location
SOUTH HARBOR OPERATIONS AREA REDEVELOPMENT
Port of Manila, South Harbor, Manila

Client
PACIFIC CONSULTANTS INTERNATIONAL
7-5 Sekido, 1-Chome, Tama-shi, Tokyo 206,Japan

Project Completion
1999

Associated Firms
May Bagasao, Sociologist

Services Provided
- Land Use Analysis and Social Housing

South Harbor, Manila is one of two container ports of Metropolitan Manila. In 1998, Asian Terminals Inc. signed with the Philippine Ports Authority a lease agreement to operate the facility as a modern container terminal. Considering the state of the South Harbor at the time the agreement was signed and ATI's plan to optimize operations and even accommodate projected increases in international cargo handling a master plan was required. ATI commissioned PCI International to do the major study. PROS was asked to do the study on complementary land uses and a study on the social environment that involved informal dwellers within the port redevelopment zone.

Studies required to characterize cargo traffic beyond the port area were conducted in order to determine where shortfalls in container storage in the operational zone can be accommodated elsewhere. Land uses that impact on the operational zone, their linkages in the metropolitan market and over-spill for container storage were also investigated, classified and evaluated. The use of the Pasig River both for barging as well as for hauling container cargo inland were also investigated. Even bottom clearances of barges across the Pasig River were determined as these may influence the stocking height of containers conveyed by barges. The effect of the ban on cargo traffic during certain hours of the day in Metropolitan Manila was also analyzed.

The other major study conducted was on the social implications of the squatter community inside the operational area on port operations. Alternative settlement patterns and modes of livelihood were operationally evaluated.

As for the tourism benefits the container port can showcase the unique features of port operations. This is already an attraction. This can be complemented if the development of a cruise ship facility in the South Port Area is pushed.