Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Ottari has officially inaugurated Tartous International Container Terminal (TICT), Syria's newest container terminal and the nearest to the country's capital Damascus.
TICT is the local subsidiary of Manila-based International Container Terminal Services, Inc (ICTSI), which has earmarked US$37M of capital expenditure in the facility over the period of the agreement. This include terminal development in infrastructure and superstructure, IT systems and human resources development.
Prior to takeover, TICT acquired two new mobile harbour cranes from Liebherr, the first specialised container handling cranes in Syria, and other cargo handling equipment for cargo consolidation operations. A full update on TICT's activities is included in the June 2008 edition of WorldCargo News (pp20-21).
Mr. Ottari was joined by Transport Minister Ya'Rob Bader, Culture Minister Ryad Nassa Agha, Tartous Governor Waheeb Zein Eddine and Tartous Port's general manager Zaki Najib. Also present were Budhadev Majumdar, TICT's general manager, and Francis Andrews, who oversees ICTSI's operations in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
"The inauguration of TICT by Prime Minister Ottari signals a new era in terminal operations in the region. We look forward to the coming months as we have been preparing the terminal for brisk business," said Majumdar. "We have significantly improved our backroom support with port user friendly procedures and we have rolled out a terminal operating system covering vessel, yard, CFS and billing activities.
"The involvement of private sector in Tartous port has proven to be a worthwhile process. We congratulate the government of Syria for championing private sector involvement via a global tender process and for the political will to complete the exercise. All of these will contribute to a better economy for Syria." |
