Gothenburg Port Authority has signed crossdocking expert MIMAB to operate a new, rail-connected crossdocking terminal which will be operational in the summer of 2020. Between 60 and 100,000 TEU:s are expected to be transloaded at the terminal on an annual basis, the company said in its release.
A 21,600 square metres storage tent will be built on the 45,000 square metre terminal site, which will allow transloading to take place without being exposed to the elements. Image: Gothenburg Port Authority.
In 2020, the Port of Gothenburg’s offer to industry will be even more competitive as the “Svea Terminal”, a new crossdocking terminal adjacent to the port's roro and container terminals, will be taken into operation.
“A new, rail-connected and weather-protected crossdocking terminal is in market demand and we are pleased that we have now come to an agreement with a recognized operator with a fantastic track record at the port, which also has ambitions to develop our Railport concept with us,” said Elvir Dzanic, Gothenburg Port Authority chief executive.
It is the operator MIMAB who has been commissioned to operate the new crossdocking terminal on a three-year contract with an option for two more years. MIMAB has been in operation at the Port of Gothenburg for over 20 years and has almost doubled its volumes since 2016. With the new crossdocking terminal, operations can be expanded considerably.
“We have had a tremendous development in recent years. With a new terminal, we can take the next step, develop further and continue to serve Swedish industry with fast and efficient crossdocking in the port of Gothenburg,” said Michael Bergman, MIMAB chief executive.
The world’s largest storage tent – 21,600 square metres (equivalent to around three football pitches) – will be built on the 45,000 square metre terminal site, which will allow transloading to take place without being exposed to the elements.
Apart from the tent, there will be open storage areas and five rail tracks. The track leading into the tent will be a production track and the other four tracks will be used as marshalling tracks for the facility, reinforcing the port’s total rail offering.
Gothenburg Port is in the absolute top among major world ports in terms of the proportion of goods entering or exiting by rail. In 2018, the proportion was 59 percent, and it has continued to increase during 2019.
The Svea Terminal, closely linked to the Railport system, is the latest in a series of rail investments made at the Port of Gothenburg in recent years aimed at increasing capacity and reliability. In 2018, Gothenburg Port Authority completed the Arken Combi Terminal, which has significantly boosted rail capacity at the port. The Swedish Transport Administration is in the process of transforming the Port Line into a double-track system, and APM Terminals has already modernised rail operations and increased the capacity at the Container Terminal.