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5.  ASIA PACIFIC

DUBAI WORLD EYES FURTHER INVESTMENTS IN ASIA PACIFIC:  The Chairman of Dubai World has visited the Philippines where he held talks with the President covering the company’s interest in exploring investments in ports, free zones, property development and the hospitality sectors.  He said that Dubai World sees immense potential for growth in the country and expressed an intention to actively explore the investment opportunities emerging there.  The Philippines market was considered an important part of the company’s growth strategy for Asia.  Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem has also said that India and China are two important markets for DP World.  He expressed the need to have more coverage in China.  Australia is also being considered for investment.  Sectors being considered are real estate, hotels and resorts, marinas and cruise terminals and third party logistical support for the ports business. 

INDIAN PORT FEDERATIONS DEMAND RESOLUTION OVER RETIREMENT AGE, WAGES AND CONDITIONS:  The five federations representing over 100,000 port and dock workers in the 12 government-owned ports have given the government notice of its members’ intentions to take strike action starting 1^st September if a dispute over long pending demands to restore the retirement age to 60 years, increase wages and hire more workers is not resolved.  However, following a conciliation meeting, the federations have agreed to defer the strike action by 20 days.  S R Kulkarni, President of the All India Port and Dock Workers’ Federation, hopes that the federations’ gesture would enable the parties to arrive at a negotiated settlement of its legitimate demands.

HUTCHISON GETS PAKISTAN DEEPWATER PORT CONCESSION:  Hutchison is reported to have won its bid to build a deepwater container port to the east of the Keamari Groyne on a build-operate-transfer basis.  The lease for the Karachi Port Trust project will be for 25 years, with a possible 25 year extension.  Nine consortiums were interested in developing the project, demonstrating that interest in ports in the South Asian region remains strong.

BIG PLAYERS SHOW INTEREST IN BOJONEGARA: A planned container port at Bojonegara, Indonesia is apprently drawing the interest of a number of key players in the terminal operating business, among them, some major shipping lines.  Maersk Line, PSA, Hutchison,  SSA, ICTSI the Philippines based operator and CMA CGM have been reported as registering their interest in the tender.  Bojonegara is seen as an alternative to the country’s main gateway Tanjong Priok in Jakarta and has been in the planning for a considerable time.

CHINESE WORKERS STRIKE TO WIN PAY DEAL:  Against the odds, workers in major southern Chinese ports have gone on strike to reach deals over pay disputes.  Information is limited but in April several hundred workers – crane operators – at the Yantian International Container Terminal stopped work from a Friday evening to the early hours of Saturday.  According to one Hong Kong newspaper, more than 300 workers went on strike.  Citing anonymous sources, it reported that the management agreed to raise wages by 3%.  Some reports suggest that the workers also won the right to organise a union.  China does not allow workers to organise independently and all such activities are carried out under the oversight of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions.  A second group of workers went on strike in early May at the Chiwan Container Terminal.  The dispute was aso over pay.  The workers agreed to resume their duties after the management promised salary increases.

6.  AFRICA AND ARAB WORLD

APM TERMINALS WINS ANGOLA CONCESSION:  APM Terminals, which is a major player in West Africa and has terminal operations in Lagos and Onne in Nigeria, Doula in Cameroun, Abidjan in Ivory Coast and Tema in Ghana has added Luanda in Angola to its portfolio by securing a 20-year operating concession there.  APMT is working in partnership with a local investment and pension fund company Gestao de Fundos.  A new company called Sogester will run the terminal.  APMT has a 51% stake in the operation.

MAPUTO ATTRACTS INVESTMENT:  Fairplay has reported that despite the fact that Maputo in Mozambique is being discussed as a viable alternative to Durban, the managing director of MIPS Container Terminal and head of DP World in Southern Africa cautions that Maputo should never be seen as competition to Durban or other South African ports.  He is quoted as saying that for one thing, Maputo has limitations, the container terminal has a capacity for 100,000teu and that Maputo should be seen as complementing Durban.  The South African company Grindrod acquired 95% ownership of Matola coal terminal last year and recently purchased a 12% shareholding on the Maputo Docks Development Co for $80m.  The capacity of the terminal is expected to double to 2m tonnes in a few years.  Grindrod is also building a modern car terminal at Maputo to attract vehicle imports and exports from the Guateng region in South Africa.  According to the report, an initial annual capacity of 63,000 vehicles is anticipated, which can be increased to 250,000 vehicles when required.

JAPANESE BANK SUPPORT SOUGHT FOR SECOND MOMBASA TERMINAL:  The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) has signed a negotiations agreement with a Japanese Bank for international cooperation for a container expansion project in the port of Mombasa.  The agreement sets conditions to be met before a loan is approved.  Apparently, the expansion is meant to ease the container-handling crisis due to imports exceeding the current terminal’s capacity.

APMT OPENS TANGIERS TERMINAL:  APM Terminals’ Tangier container terminal has been officially opened.  Tangier is expected to become a major regional transhipment hub with the ability to eventually handle 8m teu per annum.  This is the first concession in the new port.  A second concession has been made to a consortium comprising Eurogate-Contship Italia, Comanav, MSC and CMA CGM.  Concern has been expressed about potential overcapacity of port infrastructure in the Straits of Gibraltar as a result of the Tangier Two project.

TWO NEW HUTCHISON CONTAINER TERMINALS IN EGYPT:  Alexandria International Container Terminals, Hutchison Port Holdings’ company in Egypt, recently celebrated the opening of two new container terminals, one at Alexandria Port and the other El Dekheila Port strengthening the company’s presence in the region, in which APM Terminals and DP World are major players.