Ship Technology
Photo: courtesy of APM Terminals
APM Terminals has been selected as the operator of a new container transshipment terminal at the Tanger Med 2 port complex.
The €758m new terminal will feature an increased annual capacity of five million 20ft equivalent units (teus) and will augment the port’s total annual throughput capacity to more than nine million teus.
APM Terminals has already been operating the the Tangier facility at Tanger Med 1 port, which was operational in 2007 and handled 1.7 million teus last year.
“Today’s announcement shows our strong commitment to investing in trade and improving supply chains in the West Med market.”
The APM Terminals MedPort Tangier terminal will be incorporated with the technology leveraged at the APM Terminals Maasvlakte II Rotterdam terminal and features a quay measuring a length of 2,000m.
Subject to the terms of a 30-year concession agreement with the Tanger Med Special Agency (TMSA), the new terminal is scheduled to open in 2019 with Maersk Line emerging as its important customer.
The new investment project will witness the establishment of an organisation in Tangier that is expected to create jobs and assume responsibility for the completion of the terminal yard, surface, buildings, and container handling equipment, and integrated automated systems.
The Tangier Med Port Authority, which is part of TMSA, has already completed the quay wall construction and site reclamation for the first 1,200m.
APM Terminals CEO Kim Fejfer said: “Today’s announcement shows our strong commitment to investing in trade and improving supply chains in the West Med market.
“Morocco and its port arm, TMSA, have been very supportive of APM Terminal’s vision for the West Med. APM Terminals MedPort Tangier will bring important innovation and future capacity into the West Med market on one of the world’s most strategic seaways; the Strait of Gibraltar.”
The strategic location of the Tanger-Med port on Africa’s northwest coast near the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea on the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea meet, serves as a key market for APM Terminals.
Along with Algeciras facilities, also operated by APM Terminals, it provides a natural transshipment location for cargo moving on vessels to and from Africa from Europe and the Far East on the primary east as well as west shipping route through the Mediterranean Sea.
The investment is expected to cater to the growing requirements of the increasing population in Africa, and will contribute to its economic growth.
