INTERNATIONAL Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI) has held an opening ceremony for the new extension of the multi-purpose Batumi International Container Terminal (BICT) in Georgia.
The inauguration was attended by Georgian Economy Minister Giorgi Kobulia, senior executives from Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) - the terminal's principal container customer - and ICTSI vice president Hans-Ole Madsen.
'Dredging, in cooperation with Batumi sea port, provides 11.5-metre draught allowing access for feedermax vessels and making it Georgia's deepest draught port,' said Mr Madsen.
'On the landside,' he continued, 'we have met the stated requirement of importers and established a new container freight station (CFS) complete with a 180-metre rail spur to facilitate cross-stuffing from containers to rail cars.
'Complementing this, we have also expanded container and truck storage areas, and following the completion of a new highway to Batumi, introduced a new dedicated two-lane gate complex for BICT.'
The overall development programme for BICT raises annual container handling capacity to 200,000 TEU and boosts its general cargo and dry bulk handling capacities serving the Caucasus and Central Asia.
WORLD SHIPPING
The inauguration was attended by Georgian Economy Minister Giorgi Kobulia, senior executives from Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) - the terminal's principal container customer - and ICTSI vice president Hans-Ole Madsen.
'Dredging, in cooperation with Batumi sea port, provides 11.5-metre draught allowing access for feedermax vessels and making it Georgia's deepest draught port,' said Mr Madsen.
'On the landside,' he continued, 'we have met the stated requirement of importers and established a new container freight station (CFS) complete with a 180-metre rail spur to facilitate cross-stuffing from containers to rail cars.
'Complementing this, we have also expanded container and truck storage areas, and following the completion of a new highway to Batumi, introduced a new dedicated two-lane gate complex for BICT.'
The overall development programme for BICT raises annual container handling capacity to 200,000 TEU and boosts its general cargo and dry bulk handling capacities serving the Caucasus and Central Asia.
WORLD SHIPPING