South Korea's leading shipper Hanjin Shipping officially opened its 420 billion Korean won ($340 million) Busan New Port Phase 2-1 Terminal Wednesday.
"We will make this new port a new growth engine despite declining cargo volumes and economic uncertainties," Hanjin Shipping Vice-Chairwoman Choi Eun Young was quoted saying at the terminal's opening ceremony.
The terminal, operated by Hanjin's subsidiary Hanjin New Port Company, is targeted to handle 1.6 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) by 2010 and 2 million TEUs by 2011.
It sits on approximately 687,590m³ of land with three 18 metres deep berths which can accommodate up to three 12,000 TEU class vessels at the same time.
The phase 2-1 terminal also boasts the world’s first automated horizontal yard crane system.
"I hope Hanjin Shipping’s Phase 2-1 Terminal will contribute to promoting Busan New Port as the state-of-the-art hub port of Far East Asia," Choi added.
The terminal brings Hanjin Shipping's container facilities to a total of 13 dedicated terminals.
The company is currently building an additional three new terminals in Spain, United States and Vietnam which are slated to open between 2010-2012.
Earlier this month, Hanjin reported net loss of 273.8 million won ($216.8 million) in the first quarter (Q1) 2009 due to a sharp decline in demand for shipping and lower freight rates. The company had posted a net profit of 78.5 billion won for the same period in 2008.
While Hanjin predicts cargo volumes for both liner and bulker trades to pick up in the second and third quarters of 2009, it does not expect a quick recovery.
"There seems to be no drastic recovery," Hanjin Chief Executive Officer Kim Young-Min told Dow Jones.
Hanjin, which had 86 container ships and 101 bulk carriers including long-term chartered vessels as at the end of 2008, plans to add 11 container ships and 20 bulk carriers by 2012.
Hanjin is the world's 10th-largest container company by fleet size.