JAXPORT in the US has awarded a 25-year lease to SSA Marine, effectively making the Seattle-based terminal operator the new operator of Blount Island's international container terminal, starting from August 1. The deal also is expected to create 3,000 jobs over the contractual period.
The contract includes two five-year renewal options and calls for JAXPORT and SSA Marine to invest a total of US$237.8 million in the SSA Jacksonville International Gateway Terminal.
SSA will contribute $129.7 million for facilities and cranes, including $28 million towards the cost of the port's harbour deepening project and the addition of three 100-gauge container cranes, reported American Shipper.
'This is history in the making,' said JAXPORT CEO Eric Green.
JAXPORT will receive $16 million in August and a further $6 million in August 2020 and 2021, said the port's chief financial officer Beth McCague. The first round of funding also gives SSA the exclusive use of three ZMPC cranes currently on Blount Island.
The contract includes a minimum annual guarantee that is estimated to be equivalent to $158 million over the lifetime of the deal, which has an upside of $298 million, said the port's chief of administrative performance Linda Williams.
'We wouldn't be in this port if we didn't have the long-term belief that Jacksonville's day is coming,' said SSA Marine president Mark Knudsen.
SSA Marine, which currently operates on 50 acres on Blount Island, will have its space expanded to 80 acres, with an option to expand to 120 if more space becomes available.
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The contract includes two five-year renewal options and calls for JAXPORT and SSA Marine to invest a total of US$237.8 million in the SSA Jacksonville International Gateway Terminal.
SSA will contribute $129.7 million for facilities and cranes, including $28 million towards the cost of the port's harbour deepening project and the addition of three 100-gauge container cranes, reported American Shipper.
'This is history in the making,' said JAXPORT CEO Eric Green.
JAXPORT will receive $16 million in August and a further $6 million in August 2020 and 2021, said the port's chief financial officer Beth McCague. The first round of funding also gives SSA the exclusive use of three ZMPC cranes currently on Blount Island.
The contract includes a minimum annual guarantee that is estimated to be equivalent to $158 million over the lifetime of the deal, which has an upside of $298 million, said the port's chief of administrative performance Linda Williams.
'We wouldn't be in this port if we didn't have the long-term belief that Jacksonville's day is coming,' said SSA Marine president Mark Knudsen.
SSA Marine, which currently operates on 50 acres on Blount Island, will have its space expanded to 80 acres, with an option to expand to 120 if more space becomes available.
WORLD SHIPPING