ICTSI orders equipment for Madagascar port

ICTSI orders equipment for Madagascar port    Madagascar International Container Terminal Services Ltd., owned by the Filipino group International Container Terminal Services Inc., has ordered four rubber tired gantries and other equipment for use at the Indian Ocean port of Toamasina.
   The cranes, ordered from Fantuzzi Reggiane, will have a capacity of 40.6 metric tons and will be stacking containers at one over five high. They are scheduled for delivery by the first quarter of 2007. Aside from the RTGs, other new equipment ordered includes three reach stackers, 17 tractors, 21 trailers, auto-twist spreader systems and empty handling equipment.
   The Port of Toamasina handles more than 90 percent of Madagascar’s container traffic, with volumes projected to double over the next five years from 104,000 TEUs handled last year to 228,000 TEUs in 2009.
   ICTSI is investing $25 million upgrading Toamasina’s container handling capabilities in order to meet that growth level.
   “The investment is part of our commitment to the Malagasy government to bring the terminal operations up to world class levels,” said Christian R. Gonzalez, MICTL’s chief executive officer.
   “We are positioning the Madagascar International Container Terminal as a secondary hub in Africa, in particular serving vessels servicing African/Asian trade. Our initial goal is to increase existing yard capacity by 70 percent and make cargo-handling operations for truckers, importers, and exporters far more efficient. Also, it is part of our commitment to bring in the best equipment for container handling and to modernize Toamasina in line with the best international standards,” Gonzalez said.