Wallenius Wilhelmsen takes stake in North China ro/ro terminal

Wallenius Wilhelmsen takes stake in North China ro/ro terminal Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics has taken a 15 percent stake in a new $98 million roll-on/roll-off terminal in the Port of Tianjin, the largest in North China.
   The new terminal, to be owned by TPG Global RO-RO Terminal Co. Ltd., is a three-way venture between Wallenius Wilhelmsen Terminals North AB, Tianjin Port Stock Co Ltd (51 percent) and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha in Tianjin (34 percent).
   TPG has the right to operate the terminal for 30 years with an option to extend the term.
   Designed to handle 500,000 vehicles a year, the new terminal will includes two ro/ro berths for cars, high and heavy ro/ro equipment and static cargoes. It is being built to meet the increasing demands for ro/ro and vehicle traffic expansion in China and the increasing importance of the Port of Tianjin as the prime hub for northeast China, handling domestic as well as import/export related cargo.
   Construction of the new terminal in Tianjin Port’s North Harbor is due to start in mid-August. The plan is to have one berth open by end of 2007 and the whole terminal by October 2008, the company said.