APMT lands Monrovia deal, starts Aqaba expansion

APMT lands Monrovia deal, starts Aqaba expansion    APM Terminals said Wednesday it has won a 25-year concession to operate the Port of Monrovia in Liberia.
   It will be the first wholly owned facility in Africa for APMT, the terminal-operating arm of the A.P. Moller – Maersk Group. The company operates several other terminals in West Africa, in Ivory Coast, Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo and Angola.
   'Most of APM Terminals' investment will in the initial years be to construct the quay, establish efficient yard-handling procedures and install the new equipment required to transform the port into a more competitive, world-class facility capable of handling modern, deep-draft vessels,' APMT said in a statement.
   About 90 percent of Liberia's economic activity is centered around Monrovia, the country's capital and largest city. Container lines calling the port include Maersk Line (APMT's sister company), CMA CGM (through its subsidiaries Delmas and OTAL), and the Grimaldi Group.
   Meanwhile, on Thursday APMT said a berth extension at the Port of Aqaba in Jordan has started. The extension, when completed in 2013, will increase terminal handling capacity at the Persian Gulf port to 1.6 million TEUs per year, doubling the length of the port's wharf to 1,000 meters. The terminal also has recently received two new ship-to-shore cranes.
   APMT manages the terminal in a joint venture with the Aqaba Development Corp.