Maersk Expands Terminals with Agreements in Croatia and Saudi Arabia
Shipping major A.P. Moller-Maersk is continuing to move forward with its business strategy designed to build the company’s logistics operations as part of the plan to expand as a full-service supplier to shippers. Last week, through its APM Terminals operation, the company announced two further terminal projects focusing on expanding operations in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
APM Terminals and Croatian company ENNA formalize a project
for the design, construction, and operation of the new container terminal in
the Croatian port of Rijeka that the companies said will serve as a new gateway
to Central Europe able to handle the world’s largest containerships. Earlier in
the week, Maersk signed an agreement with Saudi Ports Authority Mawani for the
development of a new integrated logistics park at the Jeddah Islamic Port in
Saudi Arabia.
“For APM Terminals, development of this new facility is in
line with our newly launched strategy of “Safer, Better, Bigger”. We want to
grow our business where it makes sense and where our customers need us, and
this is clearly the case with Rijeka”, shared APM Terminals CEO Morten
Engelstoft.
Development of the container terminal operation in Rijeka
began more than a decade ago with the support of the World Bank. The first part
of the deep-sea container port was dedicated in 2019. Under the agreement, the
two companies will form a joint venture owned 51 percent by Maersk that will
have a 50-year concession for the operation of the Rijeka Gateway.
The agreement calls for the development of the facility in
two phases with the first portion expected to be operational in three and a
half years. After the completion of Phase 2, both phases together will have a
projected throughput of 1,055,000 TEU. The first phase includes a 1,300-foot
berth that will be expanded to 2,230 feet during the second phase. Initially,
there will be two ship-to-shore cranes with a third added during the second
phase. The cranes, the largest currently available in the market, will give the
Rijeka Gateway the capability of serving vessels of up to 24,000 TEUs.
Another important feature of the new terminal will be an
expanded rail connection with the hinterland, linking Rijeka not only with the
rest of Croatia but also with neighboring markets.
“Rijeka Gateway and the modernization of the railway
infrastructure is Croatia’s largest national project that will connect the Port
of Rijeka with continental Croatia and Central European countries, facilitating
business opportunities and fast economic growth not only in logistics but in
all services and all industries,” said Pavao Vujnovac, President of the Board,
ENNA Group.
The agreement in Saudi Arabia is for a greenfield project
that is the first of its kind in the Kingdom designed to create an
infrastructure for warehousing and distribution, cold storage, e-commerce and
serve as a hub for transshipments, petrochemical consolidation, air freight,
and cargo. The agreement anticipates an investment of over $136 million with a
25-year operating life.
They cited the strategic location on the Jeddah port along
the Red Sea coast. It is the largest port in terms of volume and cargo handling
in Saudi Arabia handling over five million TEU including over two-and-a-half
million TEUs transshipped through the Jeddah Islamic Port every year.
Maersk has expanded its operations to encompass 130
countries including 75 terminals. The company’s strategy s to continue to
expand the portion of its operations in the coming years.
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