01/14/2009 10h34
APM Terminals plans investing up to US$ 700 million in the Port of Santos
Valor Econômico - 01/14/2009
APM Terminals, the third greatest container operator in the world, plans to get installed in the port of Santos, building a 400 thousand square-meter terminal, with investments of US$ 700 million. The intention of the company, which is based in Hague, Holland, is to handle 1.2 million TEUs (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units) a year, starting from the initial goal of 400 thousand TEUs. The request for the area, sent to the Codesp (São Paulo Docks Company) was "welcomed the best way, in this moment of perspectives of reduction of operations", according to the State company. According to the current rules, the feasibility studies of the project run by the interested party, whereas the environmental licensing run by the Port Authority, Codesp in this case. The APM initiative represents a policy of major ship-owners and container operators of getting installed in Santos, which has operated nearly 2.5 million TEUs a year. Brasil Terminal Portuário (BTP) has participation in MSC-CMA, a French Ship-owner, which is developing a project near the area requested by APM, of similar dimensions. In 2002, Maersk, from which APM broke free in 2001, installed a service terminal of 35 thousand square meters in Alemoa, an area that may be incorporated to the new terminal requested by the APM. Codesp understands this search for its areas by container terminals as another positive step towards the handling of cargo with greater added-value, "which will require an adequate infrastructure from the port", says the State Company. APM has 50 terminals distributed through 31 countries that cater to more than 60 navigation lines. In the first half of 2008, the company had a gross income of US$ 1.5 billion and net profit of U$ 185 million, compared to the US$ 49 million in the same period of the previous year.
