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Ports America in for Sydney, Nova Scotia
Ports America has signed an agreement with Sydney Harbour Investment Partners (SHIP) for the planned Novaporte container terminal at the Port of Sydney, Nova Scotia.
Novaporte is the name adopted earlier this year by SHIP and the Port of Sydney for the container terminal they are trying to develop in Cape Breton. SHIP has exclusive development rights to approximately 500 acres in the Port of Sydney for the terminal.
In an announcement the parties said that “Ports America and a specially formed development group, will build a dedicated, semi-automated, deep-water marine container facility capable of handling 18,000+ TEU vessels. Building will commence after establishing sufficient customer volume commitments. Construction, once initiated, is expected to take approximately two years to complete. Ports America will be the operator for 40 years.
Speaking with WorldCargo News, Albert Barbusci, founding partner of SHIP, said Ports America will begin work on design and modelling for the new terminal and meeting with its clients to introduce the facility.
It is known that Highstar Capital has been trying for some months to find a buyer for its majority stake in Ports America, but Barbusci said SHIP is “not concerned” over any sale.
For Ports America, Chief Strategy Officer Peter Ford, stressed that Novaporte has location, deep water and room for expansion. “Geographically, it is the first stop for vessels on the Great Circle Route from Europe and Asia via the Suez. It has abundant land, an adjacent 1,200-acre logistics park and is located in a foreign trade zone. Add to that abundant power, road and rail, as well as a skilled work force, and you have the makings of an East Coast gateway for the next generation of super ships.”
On the other hand a container terminal in Sydney Nova Scotia, where there is very little local cargo and rail distances to the main US and Canadian population centres are much longer than from competing ports, seems like something of a long shot. Shipping lines in particular are not typically interested in agreeing to commit volume before such a facility is even built, and Ports America does not appear to be taking a great deal of the commercial risk itself.
Barbusci declined to comment on the size of Ports America’s investment in Novaporte, but did say that SHIP is not reliant on Ports America to fund construction. China Communication Construction Company (CCCC) is currently preparing a feasibility study for the terminal, and SHIP has previously announced that it “is expected that CCCC will be an equity partner and play an important role in both the engineering and construction of the new port”. This includes CCCC group companies China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) building the facility and ZPMC supplying the cranes and other equipment.
"We are excited about partnering with Ports America, the largest terminal operator and stevedore in the United States”, Barbusci added. “In all our partnerships including financial, construction, engineering, marine equipment and technology relationships, we have looked for industry leaders. Ports America fits this description exactly. Its experience covers all aspects of marine operations from containers, to bulk, breakbulk, world-class cruise terminals, intermodal and RoRo facilities. We couldn't ask for a stronger, more experienced operating partner.”
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