ICTSIs Syrian terminal opens for business

INTERNATIONAL Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI) has announced the start of commercial operations at its Tartous International Container Terminal (TICT) at Syria's Port of Tartous.

TICT took over operations of the Tartous terminal on October 28 and serviced its first client the same day, handling the Maersk ship, Mercosul Palometa.

Said TICT general manager and CEO Budha Majumdar: "We have been preparing for this moment for some time, and while there are still challenges, we are confident that the terminal will significantly raise the standard of container handling in the country."

TICT began operations after doing an inventory of equipment and infrastructure, finalising administrative procedures and completing civil works.

During the transition, TICT acquired and deployed two new Liebherr mobile harbour cranes, which arrived in July to provide specialised ship-to-shore container handling capacity.

Aside from the equipment purchase, other investments are also now underway for terminal superstructure, landside container handling equipment, a terminal management system incorporating user-friendly client interfaces and for human resources development and training.

Over the lifetime of the 10-year concession, TICT will invest US$37 million in infrastructure rehabilitation and modernisation, handling equipment and IT systems as well as personnel training programmes, a company statement said.

The Tartous terminal has a 540-metre quay with a draft of 13 metres. The terminal covers an area of 25 hectares incorporating a 15,000-square metre warehouse for stripping and stuffing.