APM Terminals Izmir prepares for 2016 opening
With the delivery of five Rubber-Tire Gantry Cranes (RTGs) and two Ship-to-Shore (STS) gantry cranes capable of handling Ultra-Large Containerships (ULCS) of up to 16,000 TEU capacity, the new 1.3 million TEU deep-water APM Terminals Izmir facility is nearing completion in anticipation of beginning commercial operations in early 2016. One more STS crane and five additional RTGs are scheduled to arrive in December, bringing the container handling equipment complement to three ULCS-ready STS cranes and 10 technologically advanced RTGs.
The opening of the new container terminal on Turkey’s Aegean coast, which will become Turkey’s biggest container terminal in the Aegean Region serving Istanbul and southern Turkey, respectively, will contribute significantly towards accommodating Turkish export growth. Currently Europe’s seventh-largest economy, the Turkish government has announced plans to increase Turkey’s exports to USD $500 billion annually by 2023. Global trade analysts with HSBC Bank have projected that industrial machinery and transport equipment will be responsible for one-third of Turkish export growth between 2021 and 2030, increasing from 29% for the five-year period of 2015 to 2020 as Turkey finds new markets for more advanced manufactured goods.
Operating under a 28-year concession agreement with Turkish petrochemical conglomerate Petkim, the APM Terminals Izmir facility will have 700 meters of quay and a 16 meter depth during its first phase of development, with the ability to expand annual throughput capacity to four million TEUs annually. The new port, which is part of the Petkim Petrochemical Complex development geared for export production, represents an investment of USD $400 million, and will create 600 new jobs in Aliaga.
Following implementation and testing of the cranes and other container handling equipment, APM Terminals Izmir expects to receive its first vessel call in March 2016.
