As PortNews IAA learnt at the exhibition TRANSRUSSIA 2008 from Arturas Drungilas, Marketing Director of Klaipeda State Seaport direction, new port of Klaipeda is to be completed by 2017. Pre-project work is currently going on. The new port will be built at an artificial island as the existing port does not have any land resources for the development. The new port is likely to be used for transshipment of oil products, mineral fertilizers, containers and, probably automobiles. The project is valued at 1 billion.
According to Arturas Drungilas, the capacity of the existing port will be exhausted by 2013 if the throughput grow rates do not change. In 2007, the port’s throughput grew by 15%, while in the first quarter of 2008 it grew by 25%. With such growth rates the port’s throughput will increase by 10 million tonnes within 6 years, which is the limit for the port. Arturas Drungilas also noted that container turnover of the port may raise to 900,000 TEU within 6 years provided that the port preserves current growth rates and implements the projects on expansion of container terminals.