COSCO signs Nansha box terminal venture

COSCO signs Nansha box terminal venture    COSCO Pacific and Guangzhou Port Group Co. Ltd. Friday signed a joint venture agreement to build and operate a container terminal at the port of Nansha, on the western side of the Pearl River Delta.
   Nansha Port Phase II will cost 4 billion yuan ($483 million) and commence operations next year. COSCO Pacific said the new facility will have a capacity of up to 4.2 million TEUs, six deepwater berths and a water depth of 14.5 meters (48 feet) that could be dredged to 17 meters (56 feet).
   The joint venture will provide COSCO with its first majority-owned port asset in the Pearl River Delta region, Reuters reported.
   COSCO Pacific holds a 56-percent equity interest in the joint venture company through its wholly owned subsidiary, COSCO Ports (Nansha) Ltd. COSCO Ports (Nansha) Limited will pay a cash consideration of about $95 million for its share in the registered capital of the joint venture company.
   “Guangzhou Municipal People’s Government has made it a strategy to transform Nansha into a modern coastal hub port,” COSCO Pacific said.
   The port of Nansha will likely compete against the ports of Yantian, Shekou and Chiwan, located on the eastern side of the Pearl River delta.
   In March, COSCO Pacific sold its 17.5-percent stake in Shekou Container Terminals Ltd. for HK$610 million ($78 million) and said it would channel new investment to the neighboring port of Nansha.