Port of Gdansk, U.K. operator sign lease agreement

Port of Gdansk, U.K. operator sign lease agreement    The Port of Gdansk Authority in Poland and the management of DCT Gdansk plc, a U.K.-based port operator, Wednesday signed the official operating lease to allow construction to begin on the DCT Gdansk container terminal site in January 2005.
   Polish Treasury officials were present at an official signing ceremony in Gdansk yesterday.
   In March 2003, the Polish port and DCT Gdansk agreed a “30-year plus 30-year” operating lease to build and operate a deep-sea container terminal at Gdansk. Treasury approval marks the final stage in negotiations with the Polish authorities before construction can commence.
   DCT Gdansk has appointed Day & Johnson Polska Sp.zo.o to project manage the construction of the terminal. The initial container terminal will have a maximum capacity of 500,000 TEUs a year and a roll-on/roll-off berth capacity of 160,000 TEUs.
   The total investment of the first phase of the DCT Gdansk project is about $200 million, provided through equity and debt. Proposed funding arrangements were submitted to the Polish Ministry of the Treasury, along with DCT Gdansk’s business plan and a submission by the Port of Gdansk Authority to gain formal government approval for the project, the U.K.-based operator said.
   The future terminal will be the largest container terminal in Poland, according to DCT Gdansk.
   The management team of DCT Gdansk is led by James Sutcliffe, chairman of John Sutcliffe & Son, one of the oldest privately-owned shipping and stevedoring companies in the U.K. The team also includes Robin MacLeod and Derek Peters, two former stevedoring executives at the ports of Felixstowe and Thamesport.