International Container Terminal Services, Inc (ICTSI) and Anglo Ports, through their Australian subsidiary, Victoria International Container Terminal Ltd (VICTL), have signed a contract in Melbourne with the Port of Melbourne Corpn for the design, construction, commissioning, operation, maintenance and financing of the Port of Melbourne's new international container terminal and empty container park at Webb Dock.
The agreement will deliver a global standard in modern container terminal design, innovation and operations, and will become the flagship facility in Australia's premier port.
The project marks ICTSI's entry into Australia, and further extends ICTSI's portfolio of managed ports to 30 terminals across six continents.
VICTL is 90 percent owned by ICTSI alongside its Australian partner, Anglo Ports.
The contract grants VICTL the rights to design, build and operate the new terminal at Webb Dock and design, build and operate the new, on-port Empty Container Park at Webb Dock East. The lease concession extends to 2040, enabling a competitive platform for the development of ICTSI's Australian business.
In announcing the deal, Christian Gonzalez, ICTSI head of the Asia-Pacific region said, "This new concession represents a major milestone for ICTSI, not only because it is our first concession in Oceania, but also because it establishes us as one of very few truly global operators with facilities on six continents."
"It is a premier project in a country that is considered to be a leader in infrastructure development, and we plan to introduce leading edge and proven technologies that will consistently deliver the highest levels of port performance. We are likewise excited by the fact that many innovations are geared towards ensuring seamless interaction between the Port, the City of Melbourne, and its surrounding communities, something we believe to be critical in the container terminals of the future," he said.
VICTL's development for Webb Dock Container Terminal utilises the best-proven technologies and innovations to deliver fully-automated operations from the gate to the quayside.
"These leading edge solutions will ensure not only superior operating efficiency, but will limit the noise and light impact on surrounding communities," Gonzalez added.
Phase 1 of the terminal, to be ready for operation by 31 December 2016, will have one berth of 330m fitted with three post-panamax ship-to-shore cranes, 23.7 hectares of yard and off-dock area with fully automated operations from the gate to the quayside to deliver an estimated capacity of 350,000 TEUs.
The terminal will be able to handle vessels with a capacity of up to 8,000 TEUs.
Servicing the terminal will be a 10 hectare empty container park with a working capacity of around 200,000 TEUs.
Construction of the terminal superstructure and facilities is planned to commence in late 2014. A second phase, planned to be operational by 31 December 2017, will deliver an additional two post-panamax ship-to-shore cranes on a second 330m berth.
When fully developed and as required by volume growth, the 35.4 hectare terminal will have a total of six post-panamax
ship-to-shore cranes on 660m of berth, and will be able to handle up to 1.4 million TEUs annually, with the empty container park's capacity rising to 280,000 TEUs.
Investment for the full development of the Webb Dock Container Terminal and the ECP is estimated at around US$510 million, and forms part of the Port of Melbourne's $1.48 billion port capacity project. The new facility will create around 200 new jobs at the port.
VICTL is also committed to limiting the terminal's impact on surrounding communities as well as to supporting community initiatives throughout the term of its operations at Webb Dock.
A particular focus of these initiatives will be children's education and welfare in communities in and around the port. Programs will be developed as part of the Port of Melbourne's consultation program, which VICTL will be actively involved in.
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