New Lisbon terminals

The Turkey-based terminal operator now wholly owns the Port of Lisbon’s deep water container terminal.

The government has intervened in order to ensure that minimum shipping services can continue to operate between the mainland and the Atlantic islands of Madeira and the Azores

Carlos Vasconcelos, president of Portuguese rail operator Medway, has said that the proposed Barreiro Terminal on the Tagus River is not a good solution for the Port of Lisbon.

The port of Sines’s Terminal XXI concessionaire, PSA International, could invest a further €100M in developing its operations, on top of the €40M it invested last year to increase capacity from 1.7M TEU to 2.5M TEU. Just completed is the last phase of work to allow the berthing of feeders and other smaller ships, leaving the main 940m quay for use by larger vessels.

Investments to expand capacity are needed in Leixões and Sines, but the government seems to be delaying permits.

While the Port of Lisbon pursues its Barreiro development plan (WorldCargo News, April 2015, p17), the Port of Setúbal (APSS), just 300 km from the centre of Lisbon and with direct connection to the motorway bypassing the Lisbon urban area, is looking to develop more than 3 km of new quays in two distinct areas.