Massport seeks gantry crane buyer

The Massachussets Port Authority is soliciting interest from the private sector to purchase three Neopanamax container cranes to be used at its newest Conley Terminal berth.    The Massachussetts Port Authority is soliciting interest from the private sector to purchase three Neopanamax container cranes to be used at its newest Conley Terminal berth.
   The cranes are estimated to cost between $13 million and $15 million each.
   “The transaction would entail the concessionaire making an investment to purchase the cranes at Conley Terminal for use at the new Berth 10,” the port authority explained. “In return for the acquisition, delivery and financing of the cranes, the concessionaire will have the right to receive a portion of the revenues from the increased TEU volumes that are generated at Conley.”
   The term for the proposed container crane contract is expected to be 25 years.
   Massport plans to invest about $850 million in Conley Terminal, with an aim to handle the 14,000-TEU containerships now calling the Eastern seaboard ports. The investment includes the development of the new 50-foot-deep Berth 10. 
   The delivery of the three gantry cranes will coincide with Berth 10’s expected completion in 2020, the port authority said.
   Simultaneously, Massport will conduct its own procurement plan to acquire the three cranes.
   “It is Massport’s intent to evaluate the results of the innovative procurement process versus its traditional delivery method to determine which approach is the most advantageous to the authority,” the port authority said.