33-WCN-Feb09:Layout 1 21/2/09 09:18 Page 1
FRANCE: PORT DEVELOPMENT
WorldCargo
news
Fos, has admitted that he hesitated before €210M total public funding for Fos 2XL MSC terminal will have a quay of 800m
accepting the post. and will be available in several tranches and a capacity of 800,000 TEU.
Apart from containers, an important over a three-year period. Each tranche Under the operating concession, first-
client for the GdF2 LNG terminal has will be subject to specific rates of interest year guaranteed throughput has been set
been lost because of last year’s strikes. And and loan durations ranging from five to at 500,000 TEU and 700,00 TEU respec-
this year got off to a bad start in the fruit 30 years. The port is financing 26% of the tively. The private operators are investing
handling sector. Israeli exporter Agrexco cost (€55M) and the rest is coming from an estimated total of €200-250M in
has switched calls to Savona after nego- the government and regional authorities. equipment and shoreside development.
tiations with Léon Vincent regarding new Construction work started in 2007. The In Dunkirk, the investment pro-
investments and tariffs at the TFM fruit quay, more than 1 km long, is nearing gramme this year will amount to around
terminal broke down. completion and a second phase of dredg- €37M. The work includes the second
The port has released its January 2009 ing is due to start by the end of the year. phase of the renovation of the container
traffic figures and, due to the general eco- Landside development is due to start yard at NFTI, bringing the whole termi-
nomic situation,they make grim reading. in mid-2009 and will be undertaken by nal up to international standards, storm
Container traffic came to 0.56 Mt, (down the terminal’s private operators, MSC and water drainage improvements and vital
28% on January 2008), or 59,118 TEU (- the CMA-CGM/DPW joint venture anti-corrosion work on the metal struc-
25%). Throughput at Fos, handling Asia Port Synergy. Fos 2XL can be dredged to tures of quays and floating docks.
and US trades, dropped 23% to 44,085 -16m. As previously reported, Port Synergy Potentially the biggest project in view
TEU. In addition, the Marseilles harbour will operate a terminal with 600m of quay is a new LNG terminal and the port’s
area saw a slump in previously resistant and annual capacity of 660,000 TEU. The CEO Martine Bonny is working closely Rouen sees deepening of the access channel as vital to its long-term viability
Mediterranean trades, with container traf-
fic falling 31% to 15,033 TEU, ro-ro down
10% to 0.3 Mt and conventional traffic
down by 53% to 0.12 Mt.
Dry bulks plunged 47% to 0.67 Mt
due to a 77% fall in imports of raw mate-
rials for the steel industry. Liquid bulks
slipped 8% to 0.22 Mt, although bio-fu-
els continued to flourish with an increase
of 150%. Oil volumes fell 19% to 4.68
Mt after demand for crude at French re-
fineries dropped by 37% in the wake of
industrial action the previous month. This
overshadowed improvements in refined
products, up 5% to 1.15 Mt, and LNG
traffic, which rose 11% to 0.41 Mt.
Upbeat note
On a more positive note, the port has been
granted €7.5M from the French govern-
ment to kick-start essential work on the
sea wall and the internal rail network
during 2009. The finance package follows
the government’s “relaunch the economy”
plan announced in December, which in-
cludes infrastructure projects among tar-
gets for special aid.
The port is putting €4.5M of the
funding towards the €20M renovation of
the sea wall protecting the Marseilles har-
bour area. Despite regular maintenance,
several sections of the 7km long by 35m
high boulder and masonry block struc-
ture need replacement due to constant
exposure to the elements.
Work will take place in three phases.
The government aid will finance urgent
measures costing €2M as well as the first
main phase, to be completed between July
and November at a cost of €2.5M. The
second phase will be carried out between
2010 and 2013 for an estimated €15.5M.
The rest of the special finance will go
towards upgrading and expanding rail
capacity at Fos in readiness for the Fos
2XL, 3XL and 4XL container terminal
developments. Between September and
December this year, two new lines will
be constructed and a disused link will be
re-opened. Each scheme costs €1.5M.
The work is part of a longer-term
modernisation plan adopted since opera-
tional responsibility for the 110 km rail
network within Marseilles and Fos was
transferred from RFF to the port last year.
EIB loan
Towards the end of last year, the EIB
agreed a finance deal worth €100M to-
wards the Fos 2XL container terminal de-
velopment. The two new terminals, due
on stream in 2010, will increase annual
capacity at Fos by 150% to 2.5M TEU.
The EIB loan represents 48% of the
King charbon
The Port of Cherbourg is hoping to
have its floating transhipment termi-
nal for coal (WorldCargo News, Decem-
ber 2008, p14) ready by this October.
The port says this would enable it to
handle eight capesize ships for a total
volume of around 650,000t in 2009.
As also previously reported, the port
is no longer run by the local chamber
of commerce and industry (CCI), but
by a 50:50 joint venture of the CCI
and Louis Dreyfus Armateurs.
The coal trade, aimed mainly at
UK generators, is seen as a good op-
portunity for diversification. In its an-
nual report for 2008, the port antici-
pates a further weaeking of the Brit-
ish Pound against the Euro, so its ferry
business “staple” is likely to be hit. a74
February 2009 33
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