ICTSI to commence Melbourne terminal operations on schedule
MELBOURNE — International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) is on track to start commercial operations at its nearly $400-million (A$550-million or P18.5-billion) container terminal here by the end of the year, marking the Philippine port giant’s first foray into the Oceania region.
In a briefing for Philippine media at the Victoria International Container Terminal Ltd. ( VICT) office here on Thursday, ICTSI Senior Vice-President and Head of Asia Pacific Region Christian R. Gonzalez said the company’s Melbourne terminal will be a “gamechanger” in Australia.
“The $ 550 million ( Australian dollars) is actually the third largest investment that ICTSI has ever made in a single site,” he said, noting that only investments in Manila and Ecuador have been bigger.
The VICT, located on a 34-hectare property in Web Dock East at the Port of Melbourne, is being touted as one of the “most fully automated” facilities in world.
“This would be the only terminal in the world without any human on the land-side. When I’m talking about land-side, this is anything on the land, including the ship-to-shore (STS) crane,” Mr. Gonzalez said.
In May 2014, VICT, a wholly owned unit of ICTSI, signed a contract for the design, construction, commissioning, operation and financing of the container terminal with the Port of Melbourne Corp. VICT will operate the terminal until June 30, 2040.
VICT Chief Executive Officer Anders Dommestrup said the terminal will have a soft opening in October, before starting full commercial operations by the end of 2016 as per its agreement with the port authority.
Phase 1 has one berth of 330 meters fitted with three Neo-Panamax robotic STS cranes on 23.7 hectares.
Mr. Dommestrup said in a separate interview that Phase 2, which involves the delivery of two additional Neo-Panamax robotic STS cranes, will be completed by early 2017.
“So pretty much by the end of the year or early January or February, we’ll actually be completed with Phase 2, almost a year ahead of schedule,” he said.
Once fully developed, Mr. Dommestrup said the VICT will be able to handle up to 1.4 million standard containers or twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) a year.
Depending on the growth and demand at the VICT, Mr. Gonzalez said the company may invest an additional A$200 million (around $153 million) for the Phase 3 expansion.
“As you can see, we’re extremely committed to making a difference in Australia. Primarily because we’ve seen an opportunity that people have not given the right value to. I think, like in other countries, we’ve taken a major risk in investment and what we paid for the right to be here. We feel this really changes logistics landscape in Australia,” Mr. Gonzalez said.