Tanger Med Port: The First Terminal Will Soon Be Fully Operational
2 July 2008
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The first container terminal has reached 80% of its capacity and has handled some 250,000 TEU containers.
The first dock of the Tanger port complex is in an advanced stage of its operations. This platform has reached 80% of its total capacity and has handled some 250,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) containers. "This volume of activity attests to the success of the commissioning of this terminal," stressed the general manager of APM Terminals Tangier, Etienne Rocher, during a visit organized on April 17, 2008, to the first container terminal of the Tanger Med port.
Inaugurated on July 28 by HM King Mohammed VI, the first terminal of the Tanger Med port covers an area of 800 linear meters and 40 hectares of land. It started its activities in June 2007 with five gantry cranes. The transhipment of full containers began last November, while the import container activity began last February. "Moroccan import-export activities of containers currently represent nearly 600,000 TEU containers. The capacity of our terminal alone is 1.5 million containers, more than two and a half times the current size of the Moroccan market," assured Mr. Rocher.
"We are able," added this official, "to handle up to 1300 refrigerated containers instantaneously on our terminal; we have the capacity to increase this potential to 2700 containers. This effort meets the expectations we have with respect to our clients and the growing importance of this type of traffic compared to the transshipment activity that will be carried out by APM Terminals Tangier."
The concessionaire company of the first terminal of the Tanger Med port, a subsidiary of APM Terminals, received the three other gantry cranes last March. Eleven of the remaining twenty-six rubber-tired gantry cranes (Eco-RTG) are scheduled to arrive at the dock in May. All of this new equipment will be operational next June, thus allowing APM Terminals Tangier to operate at full capacity. "The total amount of investments over the period 2005-2007 is estimated at 145 million euros, 60% of which is for equipment to carry out loading and unloading operations, including quay cranes, Eco-RTGs and trucks," assured Mr. Rocher.
For this official, the transshipment market is experiencing strong growth; it is a demanding and evolving market. This has led to "close collaboration between APM Terminals and all project partners, including Eurogate-Tanger, the concessionaire of the second container terminal of the Tanger Med port," noting that this platform "is perfectly complementary to the Algeciras terminal, itself operated by APM Terminals, and consolidates the position of the Strait of Gibraltar as a nerve center of world trade."
Since its creation in March 2005, APM Terminals Tangier has created more than 600 jobs.
It is planned to increase this workforce to more than 700 people by 2009. They benefit from professional training at APM Terminals group terminals abroad, particularly at the ports of Port Said (Egypt), Aqaba (Jordan) and Salalah (Sultanate of Oman). "This performance is all the more remarkable as it reflects the combined efforts of our young teams, composed of more than 97% Moroccans," added Mr. Rocher. Note that the concessionaire company APM Terminals Tangier is a subsidiary of APM Terminals, a world leader in container terminal management. It operates in 50 ports, generating traffic of 28.4 million TEU in 2006 for 60 shipping companies. APM Terminals, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, was established in 2001 as an independent entity within the AP Moller-Maersk group. Posted online April 22, 2008
europe.adp.com
The first dock of the Tanger port complex is in an advanced stage of its operations. This platform has reached 80% of its total capacity and has handled some 250,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) containers. "This volume of activity attests to the success of the commissioning of this terminal," stressed the general manager of APM Terminals Tangier, Etienne Rocher, during a visit organized on April 17, 2008, to the first container terminal of the Tanger Med port.
Inaugurated on July 28 by HM King Mohammed VI, the first terminal of the Tanger Med port covers an area of 800 linear meters and 40 hectares of land. It started its activities in June 2007 with five gantry cranes. The transhipment of full containers began last November, while the import container activity began last February. "Moroccan import-export activities of containers currently represent nearly 600,000 TEU containers. The capacity of our terminal alone is 1.5 million containers, more than two and a half times the current size of the Moroccan market," assured Mr. Rocher.
"We are able," added this official, "to handle up to 1300 refrigerated containers instantaneously on our terminal; we have the capacity to increase this potential to 2700 containers. This effort meets the expectations we have with respect to our clients and the growing importance of this type of traffic compared to the transshipment activity that will be carried out by APM Terminals Tangier."
The concessionaire company of the first terminal of the Tanger Med port, a subsidiary of APM Terminals, received the three other gantry cranes last March. Eleven of the remaining twenty-six rubber-tired gantry cranes (Eco-RTG) are scheduled to arrive at the dock in May. All of this new equipment will be operational next June, thus allowing APM Terminals Tangier to operate at full capacity. "The total amount of investments over the period 2005-2007 is estimated at 145 million euros, 60% of which is for equipment to carry out loading and unloading operations, including quay cranes, Eco-RTGs and trucks," assured Mr. Rocher.
For this official, the transshipment market is experiencing strong growth; it is a demanding and evolving market. This has led to "close collaboration between APM Terminals and all project partners, including Eurogate-Tanger, the concessionaire of the second container terminal of the Tanger Med port," noting that this platform "is perfectly complementary to the Algeciras terminal, itself operated by APM Terminals, and consolidates the position of the Strait of Gibraltar as a nerve center of world trade."
Since its creation in March 2005, APM Terminals Tangier has created more than 600 jobs.
It is planned to increase this workforce to more than 700 people by 2009. They benefit from professional training at APM Terminals group terminals abroad, particularly at the ports of Port Said (Egypt), Aqaba (Jordan) and Salalah (Sultanate of Oman). "This performance is all the more remarkable as it reflects the combined efforts of our young teams, composed of more than 97% Moroccans," added Mr. Rocher. Note that the concessionaire company APM Terminals Tangier is a subsidiary of APM Terminals, a world leader in container terminal management. It operates in 50 ports, generating traffic of 28.4 million TEU in 2006 for 60 shipping companies. APM Terminals, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, was established in 2001 as an independent entity within the AP Moller-Maersk group. Posted online April 22, 2008
europe.adp.com
