Southeast Asia · Case study

Port of Surigao, Philippines

Port of Surigao, Surigao City, Surigao del Norte, Philippines.Port of Surigao received the APSN GPAS Award in 2023 (Philippine Information Agency, 2024).

Summary:

The Port of Surigao is operated under the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) Port Management Office of Surigao and is the premier port in the Caraga Region, handling passenger, containerized and roll-on/roll-off traffic (The Maritime Review, n.d.).

The port received GPAS recognition in 2023 after it satisfactorily complied with the GPAS scorecard (Philippine Information Agency, 2024).

Its green program covers renewable energy, energy efficiency, pollution mitigation and waste management (World Ports Sustainability Program, n.d.). The WPSP project entry identifies goals covering solar and shore-based power, energy efficiency (Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting and inverter air conditioning), partnerships for safe waste disposal and treatment facilities. That entry does not establish which installations were completed or their operational results (World Ports Sustainability Program, n.d.). The PPA also reports that its regular port and coastal cleanups have collected more than 1.1 million kilograms of ocean waste across the PPA network since 2016 (Philippine Ports Authority, 2024).

Expected benefits include lower operating costs and less reliance on fossil fuels, although port specific financial figures are not publicly disclosed (World Ports Sustainability Program, n.d.). Costs would include capital investment in any infrastructure delivered under these goals, ongoing monitoring and the application and audit cycle.

Transferability:

Surigao shows that a regional port under a national port authority in Southeast Asia can meet the GPAS scorecard. DMC ports can start with lower-cost measures such as LED lighting, efficient air conditioning and waste disposal partnerships, then plan larger investments such as solar power. Working through a national port authority lets smaller ports share programs such as coastal cleanups. Ports should record what is installed and its results so that later applications can show progress.

Sources

All information used for this case study was based on publicly available resources.