Hutchison moves into Poland

Hutchison moves into Poland    Hong Kong-based Hutchison Port Holdings, the world’s largest terminal operator, has entered into agreements to acquire a majority stake in Wolny Obszar Gospodarczy, a general cargo terminal in the port of Gdynia, Poland, with a plan to develop it into a container terminal.
   The terminal has a waterfront of 550 meters (1,804 feet) with a depth alongside of 10.5 meters (34 feet).
   The port of Gdynia handles 90 percent of Polish seaborne containerized cargo and Poland has reported double-digit container growth for the last few years, according to Hutchison.
   “With the benefits of Poland’s recent accession to the European Union we believe this healthy growth rate will continue,” said John Meredith, group managing director of Hutchison Port Holdings.
   Present in numerous countries with the notable exception of the United States, Hutchison operates 206 berths in 35 ports. The group handled 41.5 million TEUs worldwide in 2003.