APM expands Pipavav box terminal

APM expands Pipavav box terminal    APM Terminals said Friday it has received two ship-to-shore cranes for its container terminal in the Port of Pipavav, in northwestern India.
   The new cranes mean Pipavav now has eight such cranes. Pipavav is one of two privately owned and operated container ports (along with Mundra) in the state of Gujarat, a growing cargo-producing and consuming region and the closest major port cluster to the capital of New Delhi.
   Significantly, Pipavav will in May also see its channel dredged to 14.5 meters, making it and Mundra the only container ports capable of handling ships larger than 2,500 TEUs. Dredging improvements are also ongoing in the country's two largest container gateways — the Jawaharlal Nehru port complex near Mumbai, and Chennai.
   'We are strongly committed to India, as seen in our significant, ongoing investments at Pipavav and at our Gateway Terminals of India facility at Nhava Sheva in Mumbai,' said Kim Fejfer, APM Terminals chief executive officer, at a ceremony at the terminal. 'Pipavav's strategic location and excellent connectivity make it the best choice for shippers in the Asian, African, Middle East, European, Mediterranean and U.S. trade lanes.'
   Pipavav has capacity of 600,000 TEUs per year, but that is expected to more than double eventually.
   Along with expansion of box capacity, APM said Friday its capacity for handling fertilizer, a key commodity for Pipavav, has been increased from 1,000 to 10,000 tons per day.