ASEAN ports acknowledged the problems they face and heard of some specific solutions at the 14th ASEAN Ports and Shipping Conference in Bangkok.

Some, such as lack of well-connected land transport and a poor policy environment in some countries, are well-known, but Myanmar added substantially to this.

“We have a lot of challenges,” Ni Aung, general manager of the Myanma Port Authority said.

While large amounts of infrastructure such as the man-made island of Kyaukphyu, which supports an oil and gas pipeline serving China, have already gone in, with more such as Dawei and the Kaladan Multimodal Corridor following soon, a key problem was flagged.

Impressive though these facilities are, none is close to the commercial centre of Yangon, where there are substantial problems of access for larger ships.

Thailand’s big urban centre, Bangkok, has both a river port and a gateway and deepwater facility, Laem Chabang, two hours’ drive to the southeast. “We are very different,” Ni Aung told the conference, adding that his country was “opposite to [Bangkok]. They are very near a deepsea port.”

Myanmar’s ports, he explained, were “very far from the city districts, very far from Yangon.” It is the first time a Myanmar official has publicly noted the issue.

Ni Aung also outlined the problems the capital’s ports, Yangon and Thilawa, have.

One constraint is “a very limited draft,” which he put at a maximum of nine metres, not the sort of depth that can support large container vessels.

The second constraint is the presence of two bars in the waters around the capital. The inner bar is close to Yangon’s centre, which limits the effectiveness of Yangon port, while the outer bar at the river’s mouth restricts vessel movements to both ports.

Between them, the two ports move 90% of Myanmar’s imports and exports, some 12 million metric tons of cargo and 3.9 million TEUs this year, Ni Aung said.

Nor is this the only problem the sector is contending with, as he went on to list dredging needs, a lack of quality stevedoring and a licensing system, as well as less awareness of safety and environmental standards.

The biggest issue, though, is lack of investment. Much of the money going into the sector is coming from overseas governments, with Japan being a key player and Thailand a big investor on Dawei, he said. Not surprisingly, he underscored the need for more funds.

“We invite all investors for Myanmar. Among ASEAN countries, we are virgin land,” he said.

Balancing this, a number of other speakers pointed out the solutions that can be found even in ports where congestion has been a severe – and often public – problem.

One speaker from Manila North Harbour Port outlined how specific hardware additions such as new cranes and dredging as well as a new road link can improve a port’s efficiency to the point where they are looking forward to a new competitive international environment.

Another Philippines port, Cebu, where congestion has been a real and persistent problem but without the headlines Manila received, outlined the measures they took to resolve yard and berth congestion.

Its approach is different to Manila’s as it went not so much for infrastructure but the administration, although it did arrange extra space for storage and did more dredging.

For two years, it bashed the ears of the authorities to make it easier to move cargoes, Annabel Pulvera-Page, head of legal and corporate development at Oriental Port and Allied Services Corporation (OPASCOR), said.

OPASCOR won significant concessions with release of cargoes now allowed 24/7 except on holidays, and a 12-hour day for document processing. “We are able to improve just the last two months,” Pulvera-Page said.

Offsetting that, one problem she identified was “undermanned offices” and time-consuming procedures some people moving goods still have to contend with. “We are a work in progress, but it’s good progress,” she said.

By Michael Mackey

Southeast Asia Correspondent | Bangkok