BOX BUILD-UP

Like the other major container centres along Spain’s Mediterranean coastline, the Port of Valencia is striving to pile on new container capacity to keep up with demand.

While in traffic development terms 2004 was a relatively static year – around 2mTEUs – the year nevertheless saw significant progress made as regards achieving a greater return from the port’s existing container capacity and laying the foundations for a major capacity boost in the short and medium term future.

Most notable, work commenced on the development of the new MSC container terminal which together with common user container terminal capacity is expected to provide a platform for the line to significantly increase annual container throughput via Valencia, potentially up to 2mTEUs in the medium term.

Approvals have also been formalised by the Port Authority of Valencia with regard to the expansion of the Maritima Valenciana container terminal – the port’s major container facility – with this to be extended into the area where ro-ro and auto operations are currently undertaken by Grimaldi and others.

By end 2006 all the ro-ro/auto operations will have moved to a new purpose-built site at the ‘Dique del Este’ East Quay and the new MSC terminal and the extension of the Maritima Valenciana container terminal will be in place alongside each other, and effectively linked up in the rear landside area occupied by the two terminals.

While no official confirmation is available yet, the bush telegraph in Valencia indicates that the most likely option in terms of operating units for MSC is to develop a unit in conjunction with Maritima Valenciana which would presumably pave the way for efficient box exchange between the two neighbouring facilities when necessary.

Maritima Valenciana will continue to handle a significant portion of MSC traffic and particularly so with MSC intent on introducing large new traffic volume via Valencia which it uses as a transhipment hub as well as a gateway port. Further, while MSC now has its own terminal it is a relatively small site and capacity will be limited to around 600 to 700,000TEUs year, although it is understood that MSC is investigating automated options which as well as being cost-effective from a labour standpoint may serve to enhance annual capacity.

As part of its expansion, Maritima Valenciana will achieve 400 metres of berthing line and will acquire four new super post-Panamax quayside gantries as well as extensive landside container handling equipment.

TCV HEALTH CHECK Valencia’s second major container handling entity, TCV, has also been busy in recent months implementing a terminal reorganisation that has had a dramatic impact on reducing the waiting time for trucks wishing to access the terminal and all-round benefits in terms of terminal efficiency.

Indeed, such has been the positive impact of this programme the terminal is now busy canvassing business to fill the capacity created.

The positive impact of new container terminal management systems was particularly beneficial in the TCV terminal upgrade, a path that Maritima Valenciana is also now pursuing.

Major all-round operational benefits are also expected from a new transport order system introduced by the Port Authority of Valencia in mid-February and which functions via the Authority’s Community Information System. In effect, this system imposes discipline upon the task of delivering and picking up containers to/from the port’s container terminals, obliging all involved parties to follow a set procedure and generating information designed to ease the process. The procedure entails adhering to set closing times and these alone are expected to play a major part in eliminating traffic congestion problems.

LONGER TERM DEVELOPMENT Confident of its growing importance in the container sector, the Port Authority of Valencia has also laid plans for extensive new container capacity to be introduced in Valencia as part of the construction of the East Quay development and other major infrastructure works.

These works will see a forecast ?610m investment in the port over 2004-2008, ?510m by the port authority.