APM Terminals Port Elizabeth prepares for ultra large container ships with $200m investment

APM Terminals has significantly increased its previously announced $70m investment plans for the APM Terminals Port Elizabeth facility, and now plans an investment total of $200m.

This figure includes ordering four next-generation Ship-To-Shore (STS) cranes to handle ultra-large container ships (ULCS) at North America’s second-busiest port complex. These vessels are expected to start calling at the port right after the heightening of the Bayonne Bridge is completed later this year. The heightening of the bridge, combined with the widened Panama Canal allows these ULCS liner services to call and be operated efficiently at the facility.

Further investments include an expanded gate complex for a safer and faster cargo flow, upgrades to container handling equipment to make them safer and more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly to mention a few.

APM Terminals is being very selective and disciplined about the projects in which to invest with these complementing already committed investments being made at the berth to ensure the most value is harnessed from this strategic location over the long term.

President of APM Terminals North America, Wim Lagaay said: “We are connecting people, lifting global trade and addressing liner trends to make the port even better for the future. Our goal is to make APM Terminals Port Elizabeth safer, easier to use and faster for our trucker community, more productive for our shipping line clients and more reliable for our clients’ supply chains expectations. These operational and infrastructure improvements are designed to keep APM Terminals Port Elizabeth at the forefront of the New York/New Jersey harbor by being the container terminal of choice to work with by our many clients and partners. These terminal enhancements would not be possible without the essential work the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey has done to deepen the harbor and heighten the Bayonne Bridge to ensure future success and growth of the port.”

For more information visit www.apmterminals.com

7th March 2017