APM Terminals (APMT) has announced that it will develop and operate the first automated transhipment terminal at the Tanger-Med 2 port complex in Tangier, Morocco, which will have an annual capacity of five million TEU and become operational in 2019.
The 30-year concession of APMT’s MedPort Tangier terminal will complement the current operations of the existing APMT Tangier facility.
APM Terminals already operates the APMT Tangier facility at Tanger Med 1 port, which started operations in July, 2007 and handled 1.7 million TEU in 2015.
The new terminal will have annual capacity of five million TEU, with an estimated total investment of more than US$859 million.
Maersk Line will be an important customer of the new terminal.
The Tanger-Med port complex is strategically located 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.
The new APMT MedPort Tangier terminal will increase the port’s total annual throughput capacity to over nine million TEU.
APMT MedPort Tangier will have up to 2,000 metres of quay length and will feature the technology pioneered at the APMT Maasvlakte II terminal in Rotterdam, which opened in 2015.
The quay wall construction and site reclamation for the first 1,200 metres has been completed by the Tanger Med Port Authority, which is part of TMSA.
Kim Fejfer, CEO of APMT, said: “APMT has been in Morocco since the creation of our first company APMT Tangier in March 2005 in partnership with AKWA Group and the start of port operations in July 2007.
“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 APMT vision for the West Med. APMT 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.”
APMT Algeciras, on the Spanish side of the Strait of Gibraltar, operates in tandem with APMT Tangier as an integrated Western Mediterranean transhipment hub.
The location of the Tangier and Algeciras facilities provide a natural transhipment location for cargoes moving on vessels to and from Africa from Europe and the Far East on the primary East/West shipping route through the Mediterranean Sea.
Over 200 cargo vessels pass through the Strait of Gibraltar daily on major liner services linking Asia, Europe, the Americas and Africa.
PTI is due to host its own terminal training and automation conference in June, 2016, which will discuss the role of robotisation and simulation for enhancing training at terminals.
Read more about the conference here
Fact File: APMT is the largest port and terminal operating company in Africa by equity-weighted container volume, with 12 facilities operating in 10 countries and three more terminals under construction. Tanger-Med is the second-busiest container port on the African continent after Port Said, Egypt.
