Spanish shipping company Contenemar is to invest €8M (US$12.5M) in its new container terminal at Villagarcía in Galicia, North West Spain. Contenemar announced more than a year ago that it would be transferring its Canary Islands/Morocco-northern Spain services to Villagarcía from nearby Vigo.
The company’s 45,000 m2 terminal in Villagarcía is scheduled to open this month and the 260m long quay, which has a draft of 13m alongside, will be equipped with two 40t cranes. Other investments include a fleet of six 70t gvw terminal tractors and matching trailers.
In Barcelona, meanwhile, Contenemar affiliate Estibadora de Ponent (EP) is expecting to handle 310,000 TEU this year, 30% more than in 2007. This follows its move to Adosado Quay last August from its original operating area, which was divided between Lepanto and Alvarez de la Campa quays.
Whereas formerly EP could accommodate only vessels operated by its owner Contenemar, its new concession has allowed it to attract business from Transatlantica, which was previously a client of TCB, and Trasmediterránea, whose own terminal is undergoing major reconstruction. The latter is expected to generate business of up to 30,000 TEU annually, while the former will bring in between 25,000 TEU and 30,000 TEU. Additional clients, operating vessels of around 1000 TEU, are being actively sought.
The terminal occupies an area of 70,000 m2. However, within two years, it will be expanded to 113,000 m2, with 595 metres of quay, while the existing single ro-ro ramp be joined by a second. In 2009, EP will spend €5.2M on acquiring a post-Panamax gantry crane to add to three existing units and eight reach stackers. One of the existing cranes, a Paceco Portainer, has been undergoing modification by Paceco España, which has also just delivered a new Portainer to Contenemar’s terminal in Valencia.
Elsewhere in Barcelona, another multipurpose terminal, Terminal Port Nou (TPN), is expected to recoup much of the container traffic that it lost last year thanks to the transfer of a weekly Canary Islands service operated by Boluda from TCB. The line began operating at TPN in mid-April and should generate traffic this year of 60,000 TEU.
In July 2007, it lost its main container customer, Grand Navi Veloci, when it transferred its installations from Poniente y Costa Quay to Adosado Quay. Last year, traffic amounted to 44,878 TEU and 21,000t of general cargo, respectively increases of 13.7% and 3.35%. Forecast for 2008 is for throughput of 100,000 TEU and 25,000t of general cargo.
TPN acquired a mobile harbour crane in 2007 and is due to add two RTGs and two FLTs this year. In all, the concessionaire will invest €50M up to the end of its concession in 2029.
