Singapore-based container transportation and logistics group, Neptune Orient Lines Limited (NOL), it has entered into an agreement with Chinese-based SITC Group (SITC) to form a 50:50 joint venture company to build and operate a container terminal in the port of Qingdao in northern China.
The joint venture will develop a container handling facility in Qingdao based on a concession awarded to SITC in 2005. Both NOL’s liner shipping arm, APL, and SITC’s container ship fleet will contribute substantial container volumes to the new facility, once it is operational.
NOL Group President & CEO, Thomas Held, said: “At NOL we are actively seeking to expand our network of strategic terminal assets into new geographies in response to customer demand. This is a significant step forward in extending our container terminal business. We are very pleased to have entered into this partnership with SITC to develop a terminal in a location that will be the future hub for our northern China operations.”
Qingdao is China’s third-busiest container port and is strategically located near the southern entry to Bohai Bay. It is already an important hub for the range of line haul and feeder shipping services operated by APL.
The joint venture will develop a container handling facility in Qingdao based on a concession awarded to SITC in 2005. Both NOL’s liner shipping arm, APL, and SITC’s container ship fleet will contribute substantial container volumes to the new facility, once it is operational.
NOL Group President & CEO, Thomas Held, said: “At NOL we are actively seeking to expand our network of strategic terminal assets into new geographies in response to customer demand. This is a significant step forward in extending our container terminal business. We are very pleased to have entered into this partnership with SITC to develop a terminal in a location that will be the future hub for our northern China operations.”
Qingdao is China’s third-busiest container port and is strategically located near the southern entry to Bohai Bay. It is already an important hub for the range of line haul and feeder shipping services operated by APL.