APM Terminals CFO Speaks at Port Finance International Conference in London, UK

APM Terminals Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Christian Moller Laursen described the advent of a “New Era in Ports” at the Port Finance International Conference in London where he took the podium as keynote speaker.

With the prospect of global port container throughput, currently around 600 million TEUs, doubling within 15 years, and the aggressive investment on the part of shipping lines in vessels of 10,000 TEU capacity and over, port and terminal operations face looming challenges in both capacity and productivity, cautioned Laursen.

“Container yards processing significantly larger container volumes from individual vessels as well as general global volume growth will have to be able to have cargoes moved in time for the next scheduled vessel call, when the process will begin all over again, often in a matter of just a few days, or as just seen, in some cases on a daily basis”, he noted.

New facilities designed to handle the largest containerships currently on order, and beyond, while adhering to strict environmental constraints as well as safety performance parameters, and including dedicated access to interior commercial, population and industrial centers are currently in development in the APM Terminals Global Port, Terminal and Inland Services Network. The new APM Terminals 4.5 million TEU annual capacity facility under construction at the Port of Rotterdam’s Maasvlakte II site, scheduled to open in 2014, was mentioned as one example of port planning in the “New Era”.

Already Europe’s busiest containerport, in the densely populated Netherlands, Rotterdam’s Maasvlakte II is being constructed entirely on land reclaimed from the North Sea, and will have both direct rail access and cranes capable of servicing the global container fleet’s newest and largest vessels. The new $1 billion terminal planned for the recently won terminal concession in Moin, Costa Rica, is another project moving forward with an eye firmly set on the growing importance of Latin America to new Asian, European and African trading partners and the arrival of “post-Panamax” vessels to the Atlantic via the widened Panama Canal locks in 2014.

“The port industry does not have the luxury of being able to react to changes in the market environment; we must be able to anticipate and be able to deliver the terminal capacity and productivity that our customers will require” said Laursen, adding “That’s what the New Era is all about”.

About APM Terminals

– providing the port and inland infrastructure to drive global commerce

APM Terminals is taking a leading role in addressing the critical issues facing the transportation industry. With customers and business partners, the company has designed the world’s leading port and inland network to meet the shipping community’s needs today, tomorrow and in the future. With more than 60 ports and 132 inland facilities in 63 countries – the goal is to offer the market more solutions than ever before to help companies and countries achieve their ambitions.

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Source: apmterminals, November 14, 2011