Hamburg to invest another $342 million in port expansion

Hamburg to invest another $342 million in port expansion    Heeding forecasts of ongoing increases in container and other cargo traffic at the port of Hamburg, the city’s Ministry for Economics and Labor Affairs has approved additional funding of 262 million euros ($342 million) by 2009 to expand port facilities.
   Combined with funds already earmarked in its medium-term financial plan, the city said a total of 746 million euros ($976 million) will be invested in the port through 2009, under a special investment program.
   The city will raise the port’s container capacity to about 12 million TEUs by the end of 2009 under the program.
   It also noted a forecast by Germany’s Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics that Hamburg’s traffic would double to 222 million tons by 2015, with container throughput climbing from 7 million TEUs today to 18 million TEUs in 2015.
   “We will have to reach a decision in this decade with respect to the construction of a further terminal at Moorburg,” said city official Gunnar Uldall. “Construction could then take place between 2010 and 2020, providing the port with an expansion of between 3 million and 5 million TEU.”
   The special investment program covering the period to 2009 encompasses the expansion of container handling capacity at existing terminals and preparation for the development of additional capacity through large-scale restructuring of the port’s western and central areas. In addition, locations for logistics services in the port expansion area Altenwerder West will also be developed.