Peter T. Leach, Senior Editor | Feb 13, 2012 5:11PM EST
APM Terminals signed a preliminary agreement with Petkim Petrokimya Holding to operate a Port of Petkim terminal and expand the Turkish facility’s capacity to up to 3 million 20-foot equivalent units.
Contract negotiations are still ongoing, but under the initial agreement, APMT will operate a container terminal that is being expanded for 28 years, with an option to extend for another four years. The port is near Izmir on the Aegean coast of Turkey.
The agreement is part of APMT’s strategy of expanding into construction and operation of terminals in fast-developing emerging markets. The agreement calls for an investment of $350 to $400 million in a container terminal with an initial capacity of 1.5 million 20-foot-equivalent units annually, which is 50 percent more than the current capacity of the Port of Izmir.
The deep-water terminal, with a draft of 52 feet, will handle containerships of up to 10,000 TEUs on a berth with an initial length of almost 2,300 feet. Further investment can be phased in to bring capacity up to 3 million TEUs annually depending on market demand.
Plans includes for the port include a logistics complex and a petroleum refinery and petrochemical complex, which construction began on in October.
-- Contact Peter T. Leach at pleach@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @petertleach.