ICTSI to complete 1st phase of $100-M upgrade of Poland port

Port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) will soon complete the first phase of a $100-million, 15-year upgrade of the Baltic Container Terminal (BCT) in Gdynia, Poland.

In a statement, ICTSI said the investment program is designed to raise BCT’s annual throughput capacity to one million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) a year. ICTSI acquired BCT in 2003.

ICTSI said the first phase will be completed with the delivery of several Kone Panamax quayside container gantries.

The delivery of new equipment will raise BCT’s annual capacity to 600,000 TEUs by the middle of 2005 from the current 400,000.

ICTSI said the second phase of the upgrade is now underway with the expected delivery of over-Panamax dimension quay cranes to handle much larger containers.

"Our latest and subsequent new quayside container gantry acquisitions will consolidate and expand BCT’s position as Poland’s leading container gateway, and put it in pole position to cater to any increase in the size of container vessels deployed in the Baltic as well as cater to new direct service or hub initiatives," BCT president Thomas E. Falknor said.

He said the investment plan manifests BCT’s commitment to provide Poland’s exporters and importers with ample capacity for the efficient handling, storage and stevedoring of their containers.

BCT achieved a throughput of over 372,000 TEUs in 2004, and is on course for another healthy increase in throughput in 2005. It has seen consistent double-digit traffic growth since ICTSI acquired the terminal for $42 million in early 2003 under a government privatization program. ICTSI is one of the pioneers of container terminal management and operation on an international basis, having been involved in this activity since the early 1990s. The company is widely acknowledged to be a leading developer in the sector, specializing in container terminals in the 50,000 TEU to 1,500,000 TEU throughput range, and maintaining an international management team.

Last year, ICTSI more than doubled its net income to P1.06 billion, boosted by increased contributions from its foreign operations and the sustained performance of its Philippine operations, particularly the flagship Manila International Container Terminal (MICT).

Revenues grew 34.7 percent to P9.09 billion last year from only P6.75 billion in 2003. This was due to higher container volume handled by consolidated subsidiaries.

Consolidated volume went up 27 percent to 1.792 million TEUs from only 1.413 million TEUs. Groupwide volume, on the other hand, reached 1,912 million TEUs, up 25 percent from the year earlier level.