PORT OF LE HAVRE NARROWS FIELD FOR PORT 2000 TERMINAL OPERATOR

PORT OF LE HAVRE NARROWS FIELD FOR PORT 2000 TERMINAL OPERATOR    The Port of Le Havre Authority's board of directors reduced to four the number of private groups bidding to operate the port's planned Port 2000 container terminals.
   The finalist groups — Maersk Sealand with Perrigault, Mediterranean Shipping Co. with Terminaux de Normandie, CMA CGM with Generale de Manutention Portuaire, and Hutchison Westport Ltd. — will enter into discussions with port management on terms of operating agreements.
   Ten private-sector shipping or port companies sent formal 'expressions of interest' to the port authority in February.
   'The first phase of the Port 2000 plan, already commenced, will add four container berths by mid-2004 and two more by 2006. Cost of the first phase is expected to be euro 900 million ($830 million).
   Infrastructure work began last fall. Dredging of a new ship access channel and a four-mile-long breakwater started in January.
   Once completed, the Port 2000 project will comprise 12 berths along a quay stretching about 2.5 miles. The port aims to double its annual container traffic to 3 million TEUs within four years.