Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) has signed the deal to build and run a terminal at a new deep-water container port east of Keamari Groyne in Karachi, Pakistan.
The new facilities represent first phase development of Karachi's new deep-water container port.
HPH was among nine consortia that bid for the Karachi Port Trust (KPT)-initiated project.
Reports said the build-operate-transfer (BOT) concessional lease was awarded to HPH's new joint venture ¨C Karachi New Port Container Terminals for 25 years with an option to extend for another 25 years.
KPT is expected to spend some $400 million for its part of the project with the rest of the estimated $1.1 billion coming from private investments.
Earlier reports said that construction work on the new port was scheduled to begin this month.
First phase development, scheduled to come on-line in 2011, will include construction of the new HPH terminal with four berths able to handle post-Panamax vessels.
When fully operational, the port will have 10 berths able to handle the world's largest vessels.
Second phase development will enable the port to handle up to 1.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year.
Reports have said the port will be the first in the world to have an 18-metre deep harbour for a container terminal.
HPH wholly-owned subsidiary Karachi International Container Terminal already operates the port of Karachi's main-line container facilities and its Phase III development, which is in its final stages of construction. Upon completion, the Phase III development should boost throughput capacity to 700,000 TEUs per year.
|
