Busan to rebid three New Port berths

Busan to rebid three New Port berths    The Busan Port Authority is taking another crack at finding a terminal operator to manage three berths in its New Port, according to a report Tuesday in Lloyd's List.
   The authority in early August formally purchased the three berths from a joint venture between DP World and the Korean government. Dubai-based terminal operator DP World already operates a set of berths at the New Port but has found the going rough since the complex opened in late 2006, with capacity far outstripping demand. The fall in container trade due to the global economic downturn has only worsened the situation.
   The port authority said earlier this month that it was putting the berths up for bid, but no bids were received.
   The report also said if no companies respond to the third bid, BPA will be free to negotiate a deal with individual terminal operators.
   Throughput at Busan fell 17.8 percent to 5.6 million TEUs in the first half, but BPA said it handled just more than 1 million TEUs in July, the first time monthly volume crossed the 1 million-TEU threshold since November.