Polish privatized terminal predicts growth

Polish privatized terminal predicts growth    Philippines-based port group International Container Terminal Services Inc. predicted that its Baltic Container Terminal in Gdynia, Poland, will experience double-digit growth in container throughput this year, as Poland prepares to join the European Union on May 1.
   “We are already seeing a significant upturn in traffic this year,” says Jan Mors, executive vice president of Baltic Container Terminal. “There is every indication that this will continue to grow at a strong rate over the course of the year and beyond.”
   Poland’s gross domestic product rose by an annual rate of 6 percent in the first quarter of the year, up from 4.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2003.
   In 2003, Baltic Container Terminal handled 304,745 TEUs, up 23 percent over the previous year.
   International Container Terminal Services acquired the port facility under a Polish government privatization in May 2003.
   The port group plans to double container capacity at the terminal to about 1 million TEUs, with an investment of approximately $100 million.