As Philippine Trade Grows, DP World Expands Manila Terminal

 

DP World and the Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) have announced the completion of the Manila South Harbor (MSH) expansion. Located in Philippines’ largest port of Manila, the modernized MSH is poised to take up more trade in the rapidly growing Southeast Asia corridor.

The MSH expansion project cost approximately $100 million, according to DP World and ATI. This went into the extension of a pier, dredging to a depth of 13 meters, yard expansion to accommodate 20,000 TEU and the purchase of two additional ship-to-shore (STS) cranes.

In addition, the expansion will see MSH’s annual capacity rise to two million TEUs, a jump of over 25 percent from the current 1.45 million TEUs. Notably, the two neo-post-panamax STS cranes are the biggest among MSH’s 11 quay-side equipment and among the biggest ever deployed in the Philippines. With an outreach of 58 meters, each crane can handle vessels carrying up to 20 containers wide.

In the past decade, cargo throughput at MSH has been on the rise. Last year, MSH handled 1.3 million TEUs, 8 percent higher than 2023. MSH handled 350,000 TEUs in the first quarter of 2025, over 25 percent higher compared to the same period in 2024.

Besides MSH, DP World is also an operator in Batangas Port, Cavite Barge Terminal and several inland logistics terminals. ATI is the local partner of DP World in the Philippines.

“The modernization projects at MSH are a testament to the long-standing private-public-partnership to enhance the country’s trade facilities and capabilities. We extend our gratitude to our partners from ATI and DP World for bringing in the operational knowledge, expertise and resources,” said Vince Dizon, Department of Transportation Secretary.

With a growing economy, the Philippines has committed funding to modernize its key ports. In December, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) rolled out 66 port expansion projects worth over $420 million. Some of the upgrades earmarked under this initiative are almost complete, according to PPA general manager Jay Daniel, who visited some of the sites last week. One of the projects is the $10 million upgrade of the Banago port in Bacolod city. The project is on track for completion by the end of June 2025. It represents one of the largest port infrastructure investments on Negros Island by the Philippine government. The project involves expansion of the road network connecting to the port, upgrade of the roro marshalling yard to accommodate up to 50 trucks, and construction of a three-story passenger and operations building.