Antwerp Takes Stake in DP World Terminal

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

31 May 2010

The Antwerp Port Authority acquired a minority stake in a Belgian inland container terminal outside the port area that will be operated by DP World, the global ports group. The port said the acquisition is part of its hinterland policy aimed at boosting the share of barge and rail transport in the modal split of Europe’s second largest container port.
The deal would also give Antwerp “a greater clout in the logistics chain,” the port authority said.
The authority did not give financial details of the deal or the size of its stake in the Beverdonk Container Terminal on the left bank of the Albert canal in the Flemish town of Grobbendonk.
The port authority’s involvement in the terminal would ensure it is open to all port users and not limited to DP World customers.
The terminal, due to open by late 2011 or early 2012, will have an initial annual capacity of 70,000 20-foot equivalent units, rising to a maximum of 300,000 TEUs.
The terminal will act as a “transferium,” consolidating container traffic to or from the port of Antwerp by barge.
A 300,000 square meter complex of warehouses will be built alongside the terminal to create an integrated multimodal logistics hub.

Source: Journal of Commerce