Eurogate’s bid for 3.5 million TEUs JadeWeserPort successful

Eurogate’s bid for 3.5 million TEUs JadeWeserPort successful    Hamburg-based container operator Eurogate’s bid to operate the future deep sea port JadeWeserPort Container Terminal in Wilhelmshaven on Germany’s North Sea coast was accepted Tuesday.
   The terminal, expected to start operations by 2010, has a projected handling capacity of 3.5 million TEUs a year.
   Eurogate said it will establish a subsidiary company, Eurogate Wilhelmshaven, following the formal award of the tender and invest euros 350 million ('421 million) developing the terminal’s infrastructure, including a rail transshipment station. The German government will provide the remainder of the anticipated euros 1 billion ($1.2 billion) needed to develop the port.
   “We are highly delighted at this decision”, said Emanuel Schiffer, chairman of Eurogate. “It means our efforts of many years to build the German deepwater container port have come considerably nearer their final goal. Eurogate is more convinced than ever that a container terminal in Wilhelmshaven is necessary, and that it will be successful. Growth in container volumes at the German seaports have considerably exceeded forecasts over the past few years. Moreover the shipping lines are sending larger and larger ships to the European seaports. If today a container ship has an average cargo capacity of 8,000 TEUs, tomorrow it will be 12,000 TEUs.”
   Under German law, JadeWeserPort Realisierungs GmbH & Co. KG’s formal tender offer to Eurogate is subject to a 14-day waiting period for unsuccessful bidders to reply.