HUTCHISON, HANJIN, HYUNDAI FINALIZE KWANGYANG DEAL

HUTCHISON, HANJIN, HYUNDAI FINALIZE KWANGYANG DEAL    The expansionist Hong Kong-based port group Hutchison Port Holdings and the Korean shipping lines Hyundai Merchant Marine and Hanjin Shipping have finalized an agreement with the Korea Container Terminal Authority to develop and operate a terminal in the port of Kwangyang, Korea.
   Under the terms of the agreement, a consortium comprising the three companies will lease seven berths in the port of Kwangyang, as part of its “Phase 2” development, for a 30-year period. The consortium will also have preferred rights to negotiate with the Korea Container Terminal Authority to develop the next phase of the container facilities in the port.
   “Upon the completion of Phase 2, Kwangyang port will have the size and capacity to compete with the port of Pusan,” said Chung Woo Taik, South Korea’s Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.
   The Phase 2 expansion project will be developed on 85 hectares of land. When complete, it will have a quay length of 1,950 meters and a handling capacity of 1.75 million TEUs.