Palace: port congestion gone in two weeks

Wikipedia Photo of Manila’s overcrowded port

MANILA — Malacanang assured yesterday that the port congestion will be gone in two weeks’ time as truckers are given five days to pull out their containers from the Port of Manila.

“For the next two weeks, starting Monday, trucks will be exempted from the truck ban and will be allowed to use the 24-hour express truck lanes,”  Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said. 

The secretary said the implementation of the 24-hour last mile truck routes is another way to decongest the port, according to Almendras.

Given this measure, the government has set up truck routes along Roxas Boulevard and Quirino Avenue going south and A. Bonifacio C-3 to the north.

All cargo will be fined P5,000 per day if fail to pull out within the prescribe five-day period.

Meanwhile, truckers who have used the port for 30 to 90 days will be shipped out to Subic or Batangas.

A total of 16,000 containers and 12,000 trucks will be moved out of the Port of Manila.