The International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI), a port management company in the Philippines, said it has signed a key agreement for the second major development phase of the Basra Gateway Terminal (BGT) in North Port at Umm Qasr region of Iraq.

Two new berths will be developed incorporating a 20-hectare yard area thereby doubling the annual container handling capacity at BGT by 600,000 TEU to a total of 1.2 million TEU, said the company in a statement.

The berths will be configured and equipped with quay and landside container handling systems so as to handle container vessels of up to 10,000 TEU. Combined with the adjacent Berth 27, it will offer a continuous berthing line of 600 m, it added.

"This new $100-million investment follows hot on the heels of ICTSI’s development of Berth 27 and the rehabilitation and upgrade of berths 19, 20 & 21, a $150-million investment," said Enrique K. Razon Jr, the chairman and president of ICTSI, after signing the agreement with GCPI Director Chief Riyadh and Ali Khalaf, the Basra Mas CEO.

"Our commitment to provide international standard port facilities and services in Iraq is plain to see," he stated.

"It also represents the fruit of a positive working relationship with the Iraq Ministry of Transport, General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI) and Governorate of Basra as well as other government agencies. This combined effort will, when the new facilities are completed in 18 months time, deliver the new facilities that are essential to support Iraq’s key economic objectives including the resurgence of the non-oil economy," he added.

The new investment will be undertaken by ICTSI subsidiary BGT with construction scheduled to start immediately.

Phillip Marsham, BGT CEO, said the new development will facilitate the desire of ship-owners to introduce larger capacity vessels into the port of Umm Qasr.

"Since we commenced operations at the North Port, Umm Qasr, we have striven to meet the new requirements of ship owners and deliver international standard services," he stated.

"The development of Berth 27, formally inaugurated in October 2016, represented enormous progress in this respect and the current expansion project will consolidate and expand this important work. Like other ports worldwide, Umm Qasr is now facing the challenge of handling larger size vessels," he added.

When fully developed, Berths 25, 26 and 27 will offer a continuous 600m berthing line and 50 hectares of yard area. The new container handling systems will work in conjunction with state-of-the-art terminal operating systems and benefit from ongoing staff training and continuous improvement of systems.

Hans-Ole Madsen, ICTSI's senior VP (Europe, Middle East and Africa) pointed out that BGT has raised the bar in container handling service in Umm Qasr and Iraq as a whole.

"The new berths will, through both capacity expansion and the installation of modern infrastructure and handling systems, open the door to even higher levels of efficiency. BGT is unique in undertaking hundreds of millions of dollars of investment in Umm Qasr and as a result is able to progressively deliver a superior service to the benefit of Iraqi cargo owners, shipping lines and the Iraq economy as a whole," he added.

ICTSI operates 31 terminals in 18 countries and is recognized to be a leading developer, manager and operator of gateway terminals of different sizes and serving extended hinterlands.-TradeArabia News Service