zoomImage Courtesy: APM Terminals

Dutch container terminal operator APM Terminals has partnered up with COSCO Shipping Ports and Qingdao Port International Development to operate the existing Vado Reefer Terminal and the new deep-water container terminal under construction in Vado, Italy, opening in 2018.

The terminal operator finalized an agreement with China COSCO Shipping Ports for the sale of a minority share in a new joint venture created for the APM Terminals Global Terminal Network’s operations in Vado, Italy, subject to customary conditions.

A similar agreement was also concluded with Qingdao Port International Development which will become an indirect minority shareholder in the joint venture.

The agreements include interests in both the existing Reefer Terminal in Vado, the largest refrigerated cargo facility on the Mediterranean Sea, and the new 800,000 TEU capacity deep-water terminal currently under construction at the Port of Vado, according to APM Terminals.

Under the agreements, APM Terminals will have a 50.1% share and will operate both the Reefer Terminal and the APM Terminals Vado container terminal, while COSCO Shipping Ports will have a 40% share and Qingdao Port International Development a 9.9% share.

APM Terminals Vado, a new semi-automated container terminal, will be capable of accommodating Ultra-Large Container Ships (ULCS) of up to 19,000 TEU capacity without any physical restrictions among North Italian ports.

In August 2015, APM Terminals purchased the existing Vado Ligure Reefer Terminal, which has an annual capacity of 275,000 TEUs and more than half a million tons of refrigerated fruit.

Operations at the Reefer Terminal will be merged upon completion with the adjacent APM Terminals Vado container terminal, the terminal operator said.