Shanghai International Port Group, APM Terminals finalize joint venture

Shanghai International Port Group, APM Terminals finalize joint venture    Shanghai International Port Group and APM Terminals, a unit of the A.P. Moller-Maersk group, have finalized the formation of a 50-year joint venture in Shanghai that will operate the Wai Gao Qiao 4 container terminal in the port.
   The two operators have formally signed the agreement for Shanghai East Container Terminal Joint Venture Co.    in
Shanghai, after having operated the terminal since February under a temporary management arrangement.
   “The joint venture signing finalizes the process of APM Terminals taking a full 49 percent stake in the facility,” the Danish terminal operator said. “Shanghai International Port Group will hold the other 51 percent.”
   The venture will operate four berths and 14 cranes across 1,436 meters of quay. The new facility will have a capacity to handle more than three million TEUs annually.
   “The Port of Shanghai has been experiencing a breathtaking 25 percent growth in international trade in recent years, with 2003 throughput exceeding 11 million TEU,” said Jess Soderberg,
chief executive of A.P. Moller-Maersk.
   Shanghai is expected to be the world’s third largest container port in 2003, after Hong Kong and Singapore.