On January 31, 2008 the joint venture «Ghent Container Terminal» formed by the Finnish container shipping and terminal holding Container Finance Ltd and the Belgian stevedoring and logistics group Manuport, signed the concession contract with Ghent Port Company AMC for the construction and operation of a multimodal sea-going/inland navigation container terminal in the port of Ghent.
The "Ghent Container Terminal" joint venture is a neutral multi-user container terminal operator that offers multimodal terminal services to all seagoing and inland navigation container shipping companies. The terminal will be operational by October 2008.
"Ghent Container Terminal" is nautically well situated on the south side of the port Left Bank's new "Kluizendok", a 400 hectares waterbound Greenfield area for logistics and industrial developments.
The container terminal takes up a surface area of almost 16 hectares with 650m of quay for the handling of short sea container- and inland vessels. Total capacity is estimated at minimum 500,000 TEU per year.
The terminal will be equipped with a railway connection in 2010.
The development of a multi-user container terminal on the Ghent left bank is of capital importance for a further sustainable development of the existing and new industrial and logistical activities along the Ghent-Terneuzen canal and the industrial site "De Nest", but mainly of the "Kluizendok" itself and the logistical and industrial park "Rieme North" that is under construction. Moreover, the terminal will also play an important role as a hub for the Seine-North inland waterway canal connection with Northern France and Paris and for the Flemish hinterland.
Containerships Ltd Oy will be the first maritime customer, starting in October with a weekly service with Helsinki and St Petersburg. There will be an overnight container barging service with Antwerp, Zeebrugge and Rotterdam, operated by Manuport and partners.
Talks are also going on for an extension to regular liner services with southern short sea shipping destinations owing to which Ghent will become a gateway between Northern and Southern Europe.
Containerships Ltd Oy is a partnership between the Icelandic company Eimskip and Container Finance Ltd Oy. This strengthens its position on the European short sea shipping market with an offer of 9 vessels and over 12,000 containers, mainly 45' pallet-wide high cube. In October 2008, a 10th vessel will be taken into service.
Container Finance Ltd is a Finnish family holding with a long tradition in shipping, container terminal management, transport and hotel and catering. The three port handling companies are Multi-Link Terminals full container handling, Container Depot empty container handling and Cargo Connexion warehousing services. They operate terminal in Helsinki, Kotka, St Petersburg and Gdansk.
Manuport Group is a port and logistics group active in terminals and warehouses in Antwerp and Ghent ports, chartering- and barging companies, ship's agencies, road transportation, international forwarding and customs formalities, handling and transport of bulk goods and inland navigation container feedering in and between ports.