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INTERNATIONAL
Antwerp port
begins to expand
global presence
The port of Antwerp, the second-largest
port in Europe, has announced its
partnership with Oman to develop
the port of Duqm as the fi rst step towards
expanding its presence worldwide.
A senior offi cial of the Port of Antwerp
International said it will play a prominent role
in the development and operation of a large
distribution hub in Duqm, under the terms of
a joint venture signed between Antwerp Port
Authority and the Government of Oman.
This is the fi rst foreign venture of
Port of Antwerp, a subsidiary of the Port
Authority set up to implement the strategy to
strengthen the port’s competitive position on
a world scale “with the emphasis on cargo
connections”. The Port Authority will take on
the Oman project in collaboration with Rent
A Port within the “Consortium Antwerp Port”.
Yannick Dufraimont, CEO of Port
of Antwerp International, said in an
interview with the media, “Within the
Middle East our focus for the time
being will be mainly on Oman. We
have been discussing with Oman
offi cials since last year. We worked
on the design of the new Greenfi eld
Harbour. Work has already
started. The dredging is almost
complete. Now they are building the
breakwaters,” he said.
The Omani Government plans to
build a port and industrial complex
in Duqm, with strong emphasis on
petrochemicals. An area of 21,000
hectares has been set aside for
this, with 3,300 ha earmarked for a
refi nery and petrochemical complex
and 116 ha for the port.
“We are not involved with the
dry dock which will be ready by the
end of this year. As for the port, the
work is expected to be complete by
the end of next year when it will be
operational,” he added.
Space has been made available
for a container terminal with an annual
capacity of 200,000 TEU, which will act as a
hub for trade between the Gulf, the Red Sea,
the Far East, South-East Asia and East and
South Africa.
“The government and Belgian port
of Antwerp will each have 50 per cent
shareholding in the new company called Port
of Al Duqm,” said a Reuters report quoting
a statement from the Oman’s Finance
Ministry. Meanwhile, the Port of Antwerp
said it aims to systematically expand its
presence outside Europe, more specifi cally
in economic growth regions capable of
generating trade to develop an international
network of ports. Some of the strategic ideas
for expansion are the Middle East, India,
Sub-Saharan Africa and Brazil.
“We have identifi ed four regions apart
from the Middle East. We are working
very hard on India, the second region. We
are concentrating on Congo and western
Africa. We have to strengthen our team for
our Brazil initiatives,” said Dufraimont. “We
have started off our global initiative with the
Middle East and will continue to work on the
rest of the regions,” he added.
Meanwhile, the second branch offi ce of
Antwerp Port Authority was started in
Pune in India to target IT services, car
production, manufacturing, biotechnology
and other industries.
India recently announced that it plans
to improve its port infrastructure with as
many as 17 public private partnership (PPP)
projects as part of the National Maritime
Development Programme (NMDP). Among
the 17 projects that are to be awarded
includes, cargo berth development at
Paradip Port Trust, Tuticorin Port Trust,
Mumbai Port, Kandla Port.
Development of container terminal will
be undertaken at New Mangalore Port,
Chennai Port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port and
installation of mechanised handling facilities
for fertilisers at Vishakhapatnam Port as well
as setting up of single point mooring (SPM)
and allied facilities at Kandla Port. Chennai
Port has proposed to develop mega
container terminal under PPP mode
at an estimated cost of Rs3.686
billion (Dh301 million). The capacity
of berth is 48 million tonnes per
annum. Tuticorin Port has also
proposed to develop North Cargo
Berth No II under PPP mode at an
estimated cost of Rs33.21 million.
The capacity of berth will be seven
million tonnes per annum.
Meanwhile, the Port of
Antwerp has begun talks with
local companies for investment
opportunities in building new ports
in India.
Meanwhile, he said, the volumes
at the Port of Antwerp have seen
an increase since the beginning of
2010. “The situation now is picking
up compared to the end of 2008
and 2009. While we managed 190
million tonnes in 2008, the volumes
went down to 160million tonnes in
2009. Although it has started to pick
up it will not reach 2008 levels this
year,” he said.
May 2010 Link 55