Ports America and Sydney Harbour Investment Partners (SHIP) have reached an agreement to promote, develop and manage Novaporte, the marine container facility in the Port of Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada.

SHIP has exclusive development rights to approximately 500 acres in the Port of Sydney and, with the support of Ports America and a specially formed development group, intends to build a dedicated, semi-automated, deep-water container terminal capable of handling 18,000+ TEU vessels, according to Ports America.

“Building will commence after establishing sufficient customer volume commitments,” Ports America said, adding that the construction, once initiated, is expected to take approximately two years to complete.

Ports America said it will focus on marketing the Novaporte terminal as a Ports America-managed facility and advise on the operational configuration of the terminal. The firm will manage and operate the terminal for 40 years, providing services such as full stevedore and terminal labor management, terminal operating systems, and maintenance and repair.

“Novaporte is a uniquely located deep-water port able to handle the largest of the next generation of ultra-large container vessels. Geographically, the port 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,” Peter Ford, Chief Strategy Officer at Ports America, said.

Ports America is the US-based terminal operator and stevedore with operations in 42 ports and 80 terminals.

SHIP, formerly known as Harbour Port Development Partners, was established specifically to develop and market Novaporte and adjacent logistics park, Novazone.