Tanger-Med: 250,000 containers transferred in less than a year!
1 April 2009
Read by 1742 persons
The first terminal granted to APM Terminals Tangier is fully operational.
145 million euros invested in 2005-2007 and 600 jobs created.
Terminal II operational next summer and III soon to be granted.
Two groups selected for terminal IV.
APM Terminals Tangier, one of the main concessionaires of the four terminals under construction, presented its new headquarters at the port of Tanger-Med a few days ago. Since June 2007, 250,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) containers have been transferred.
"This is only a start-up phase, knowing that the objective is to exceed one million TEU by 2009. The launch of APM Terminals' activities at the port of Tanger-Med has been a unique success, the performance level has already reached a level comparable to that of fully operational container terminals. A significant achievement, especially since it is the result of the combined efforts of our young teams, composed of more than 97% Moroccans," underlines Etienne Rocher, general manager of APM Terminals Tangier.
On site, it is clear that the terminal is not fully operational and has not yet reached its full capacity due to the ongoing completion of certain works. Nevertheless, the site is impressive and gigantic. A month ago, APM Terminals Tangier received its last three Super-Post Panamax quayside gantry cranes, bringing the total to eight quayside gantry cranes. The eleven remaining ECO-RTGs should be received by next May.
All the new equipment (quayside gantry cranes; ECO-RTGs) will be operational by June, allowing APM Terminals Tangier to operate at full capacity.
Furthermore, more than 600 jobs have been created since the launch of APM Terminals Tangier in March 2005. This figure will rise to more than 700 people by 2009, still with a 98% rate of Moroccans.
In terms of activity, investment over the 2005-2007 period amounted to 145 million euros, according to the CEO, not to mention the renewal investments that will take place during the concession period. It should be noted that the operator already benefits from a maritime line thanks to its affiliation with the AP Moller-Maersk group. Maersk Line's maritime services include Europe-Asia and West Africa lines. Other maritime services to South America and the Middle East are also planned, in addition to feeder vessels covering the western Mediterranean. Several agreements will probably be concluded with maritime operators by the end of 2008.
APM Terminals is a world leader in container terminal management
APM Terminals, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, is a world leader in container terminal management, with more than 50 terminals in more than 31 countries serving 60 customer shipping companies. The group's terminals handled 31.4 million TEUs in 2007.
Its Tangier subsidiary was created in March 2005 in partnership with Akwa Group (10% of the capital), following a restricted call for tenders launched on July 31, 2007. Furthermore, following a restricted call for tenders launched on July 31, the Tangier-Mediterranean Special Agency (TMSA) received, on January 30, the bids for the concession of container terminal IV. This terminal will have a quay length of 1200 m with a draught of 16 m. Intended for leading port terminal operators, it will have a traffic capacity of 2 million TEU containers.
Among the bids submitted, those of the group formed by APM Terminals B.V. (Netherlands) and Akwa Group S.A. (Morocco) and that of the group composed of PSA (Singapore), Marsa Maroc (Morocco) and SNI (Morocco) were retained. TMSA will soon begin parallel negotiations with these two bidders to designate the concessionaire during the second quarter of 2008. As a reminder, the bids for the concession of container terminal III, with a capacity of 3 million TEU containers, were received on November 30, 2007.
In this regard, TMSA has been conducting parallel negotiations since last January with the two competing bidding groups, formed around the shipowners CMA CGM (France) and MSC (Switzerland), on the one hand, and Maersk Line (Denmark) on the other. The award of the concession for this terminal is also scheduled for the second quarter of 2008. Container terminals III and IV, both located within the future port of Tanger-Med II, will be added to container terminals I and II, located in the first port basin and respectively granted in 2005 and 2006.
Terminal I has been operational since July 27, 2007; the second will be commissioned during the summer of 2008. Together, these four terminals will offer a capacity of more than 8 million TEU containers. And it is Tanger-Med that is being talked about, not the port of Hong Kong! This shows that our port complex is now cited among the major container transshipment platforms in the world.
Posted on May 5, 2008
lavieeco.com
145 million euros invested in 2005-2007 and 600 jobs created.
Terminal II operational next summer and III soon to be granted.
Two groups selected for terminal IV.
APM Terminals Tangier, one of the main concessionaires of the four terminals under construction, presented its new headquarters at the port of Tanger-Med a few days ago. Since June 2007, 250,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) containers have been transferred.
"This is only a start-up phase, knowing that the objective is to exceed one million TEU by 2009. The launch of APM Terminals' activities at the port of Tanger-Med has been a unique success, the performance level has already reached a level comparable to that of fully operational container terminals. A significant achievement, especially since it is the result of the combined efforts of our young teams, composed of more than 97% Moroccans," underlines Etienne Rocher, general manager of APM Terminals Tangier.
On site, it is clear that the terminal is not fully operational and has not yet reached its full capacity due to the ongoing completion of certain works. Nevertheless, the site is impressive and gigantic. A month ago, APM Terminals Tangier received its last three Super-Post Panamax quayside gantry cranes, bringing the total to eight quayside gantry cranes. The eleven remaining ECO-RTGs should be received by next May.
All the new equipment (quayside gantry cranes; ECO-RTGs) will be operational by June, allowing APM Terminals Tangier to operate at full capacity.
Furthermore, more than 600 jobs have been created since the launch of APM Terminals Tangier in March 2005. This figure will rise to more than 700 people by 2009, still with a 98% rate of Moroccans.
In terms of activity, investment over the 2005-2007 period amounted to 145 million euros, according to the CEO, not to mention the renewal investments that will take place during the concession period. It should be noted that the operator already benefits from a maritime line thanks to its affiliation with the AP Moller-Maersk group. Maersk Line's maritime services include Europe-Asia and West Africa lines. Other maritime services to South America and the Middle East are also planned, in addition to feeder vessels covering the western Mediterranean. Several agreements will probably be concluded with maritime operators by the end of 2008.
APM Terminals is a world leader in container terminal management
APM Terminals, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, is a world leader in container terminal management, with more than 50 terminals in more than 31 countries serving 60 customer shipping companies. The group's terminals handled 31.4 million TEUs in 2007.
Its Tangier subsidiary was created in March 2005 in partnership with Akwa Group (10% of the capital), following a restricted call for tenders launched on July 31, 2007. Furthermore, following a restricted call for tenders launched on July 31, the Tangier-Mediterranean Special Agency (TMSA) received, on January 30, the bids for the concession of container terminal IV. This terminal will have a quay length of 1200 m with a draught of 16 m. Intended for leading port terminal operators, it will have a traffic capacity of 2 million TEU containers.
Among the bids submitted, those of the group formed by APM Terminals B.V. (Netherlands) and Akwa Group S.A. (Morocco) and that of the group composed of PSA (Singapore), Marsa Maroc (Morocco) and SNI (Morocco) were retained. TMSA will soon begin parallel negotiations with these two bidders to designate the concessionaire during the second quarter of 2008. As a reminder, the bids for the concession of container terminal III, with a capacity of 3 million TEU containers, were received on November 30, 2007.
In this regard, TMSA has been conducting parallel negotiations since last January with the two competing bidding groups, formed around the shipowners CMA CGM (France) and MSC (Switzerland), on the one hand, and Maersk Line (Denmark) on the other. The award of the concession for this terminal is also scheduled for the second quarter of 2008. Container terminals III and IV, both located within the future port of Tanger-Med II, will be added to container terminals I and II, located in the first port basin and respectively granted in 2005 and 2006.
Terminal I has been operational since July 27, 2007; the second will be commissioned during the summer of 2008. Together, these four terminals will offer a capacity of more than 8 million TEU containers. And it is Tanger-Med that is being talked about, not the port of Hong Kong! This shows that our port complex is now cited among the major container transshipment platforms in the world.
Posted on May 5, 2008
lavieeco.com
