The Western Berth of the Kingston Container Terminal was officially declared as ready for business, July 11. Seen here (from left) are Doran Goder, president and chief executive officer of Zim Integrated Shipping Services Limited; Rosalie Donaldson of the Port Authority of Jamaica, Noel Hylton, Port Authority president; and Valerie Simpson, acting chief technical director at the Ministry of Transport and Works. Zim has been allocated space at the Western Berth. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer

Israeli cargo shipping line, Zim Integrated Shipping Services Limited, which has a 10-year agreement with the Port Authority of Jamaica to use Kingston as a hub, has been allocated space at the newly built Western Berth, according to Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) president Noel Hylton.

The new berth, built for US$248 million, is the culmination of phase five of the port's 14-year expansion programme.

Exclusive right

The 10-year Zim contract has been in effect since 2006, but the Israeli line has done business with Jamaica since 1975 and was one of the first lines to call on Jamaica.

Zim's agent in Jamaica, Carib Star, referred queries on the arrangement to the Port Authority, which said it would respond later.

Carib Star said, however, that the new Western Berth is to be used exclusively by Zim.

The Kingston Container Terminal (KCT), which is managed under contract by APM Terminals Limited, now has container capacity of 3.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), but Hylton said Friday, at the ceremonial launch of the berth, that the Port Authority was targeting annual business of five million TEUs by year 2014.

Said Zim's president and CEO Goran Goder: "The Port Authority of Jamaica had the courage to invest a lot of money in building such infrastructure. That will pay in the future because once you have the infrastructure, it attracts the business."

The expanded port facility adds 475 metres of berth, with a depth of 15 metres; an extended 65-metre container yard; 10 trailer trains; 976 reefer plugs; six super post-Panamax ship-to-shore gantry cranes, two of which have already been commissioned into service; 24 straddle carriers and one 6,000 horsepower tug. The PAJ is the largest port operation in Jamaica, handling 1.8 million TEUs last year - down from 1.98 million TEUs in 2006 - but the sector includes private sector rival, Kingston Wharves Limited, and is about to add newcomer Tank-Weld, a private construction company owned by the Bicknell family, which is developing a port operation at Rio Bueno in Trelawny.

Continuous development

Hylton said the continuous development of the KCT has transformed it into one of the few ports in the region capable of handling mega container ships currently servicing world trade.

KCT is ranked number 56 on the list of the top 100 container ports globally, a position it has held since 2005, Hylton said.

business@gleanerjm.com