Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) has for the first time handled two million TEU in a single year. The two millionth TEU container was offloaded from SITC Osaka, which arrived from Ningbo in China.

"As the gateway to the Philippine market, MICT consistently seeks to improve our operational efficiency to ensure fast and uninterrupted flow of trade in and out of the port," said senior vice president of parent group ICTSI, Christian Gonzalez.

Terminal utilisation at the MICT has significantly improved since the completion of Yard 7 late in November 2015, which increased the terminal's capacity by 18 per cent from 2.5 million to 2.75 million TEU.

The two million milestone also triggers a multi-billion peso capacity improvement commitment with the Philippine Ports Authority that requires ICTSI to commission five additional post-Panamax quay cranes along with corresponding yard equipment, and build at least another berth by 2019.

Also, key to achieving the two million TEU milestone was the rollout of the Terminal Appointment Booking System (TABS), an online container booking platform, in October 2015, which significantly improved and optimised the flow of trucks in and out of the terminal.