The Group is said to have been awarded the 25-year contract by Israel Ports Company after beating MSC subsidiary, Terminal Investment Ltd, Eurogate and ICTSI to the punch.
A consortium led by Ashtrom and Shafir Engineering recently won the tender to build the new port, which will have a capacity of up to 1.1 million teu, with first phase capacity of 800,000 teu. The terminal area will be 81 hectares, with a main quay length of 800m and a quayside water depth of 17.3m.
Apparently, SIPG will invest ILS1bn (US$252m) in facilities and infrastructure before the launch of the new port, adding to the ILS3.96bn (US$1bn) said to have been invested in its development so far.
The project is part of Israel Ports Company’s 50-year Port Infrastructure Development Master Plan that was approved by the Israeli government in May 2007. The Master Plan also includes the development of Ashdod port.
But all this was questioned by a Knesset subcommittee, tasked with looking at the environmental and planning issues of the proposal, which said the current port already meets the current and future demands of the industry.
In 2013, the Port of Haifa handled around 1.35 million containers per year, with a current maximum handling capacity of 1.8m teu. The first stage of the new project will have a capacity of around 800,000 teu per year.
SPIG operates the Port of Shanghai which is the world’s largest harbor for cargo ships – a role expected to help boost Israel’s international trade.
