The 2,000 container trucks plying the Southbound area of Roxas Boulevard daily should transport their cargoes via barges linking the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) and the Cavite Gateway Terminal (CGT) inTanza when the road is closed off in succeeding months.
This is the alternative that the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is looking at once that section of the boulevard is shut off from traffic to rehabilitate an old road.
DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade has already conducted an inspection of the MICT in Tondo, Manila, Dec. 27, 2021.
To date, the government and the private sector are working together to avoid inconvenience to businesses and the general public during the road closure.
MICT's operator, International Container Terminal Service Inc. (ICTSI), as well as the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) are collaborating with the DOTr to solve the problem, Secretary Tugade underscored.
Alteady, PPA GM Jay Santiago appealed to the stakeholders of the logistics sector to help as well.
"We expect our comrades in logistics - manufacturers, shippers and truckers - to be one with us to put Roxas Blvd. in order and make use of the Tanza Cavite Barge (CGT) Terminal,” he stated.
On the same day, PPA and Pacific Roadlink officials made separate inspections at CGT.
The terminal was one of the maritime transport infrastructure projects that DOTr completed in 2018 to boost intermodal cargo transport.
The CGT was the country's first barge terminal. It eased the flow of traffic in Metro Manila and helped avoid delays in the delivery of cargoes.