APM Terminals (APMT) has signed an agreement for the construction and delivery of four ship-to-shore (STS) cranes and 14 automated rail-mounted gantry cranes (ARMGs) for the new APMT Vado terminal now under construction on Italy’s Ligurian coast.
The new facility, the first new major port construction in Italy in several decades, is scheduled to open in January 2018 with an annual throughput capacity of 800,000 teu, and the ability to handle vessels up to 18,000 teu in capacity.
The Italian government is providing €300m (US$341m) for civil works for the project while APMT is investing €150m (US$171m).
The terminal’s managing director, Carlo Merli, said:
“This shore side infrastructure is essential to the development of new logistics networks and inland transportation possibilities for Italy as the Ligurian coast becomes accessible to the global shipping fleet’s largest vessels”.
In 2014, the ports of northern Italy’s Liguria range, including La Spezia, Genoa and Savona/Vado, handled a combined 3.5m teu, representing an increase of approximately 6% compared with the previous year.
APMT is embarking on expansion at the Ligurian coast as part of the port’s master plan to create new access to markets in Northern Italy, Southern France, Switzerland and Germany.
The new terminal, which will handle both containerised and liquid bulk cargoes, will be integrated operationally with the existing 275,000 teu capacity Vado Reefer Terminal facility, which was acquired by APMT in August 2015.
The STS cranes are expected for delivery in March of 2017, while the ARMGs are scheduled to arrive the following month.
Source: container-mag.com