Issue link: http://digital.nexsitepublishing.com/i/643635
16 January 2016 www.cargobusinessnews.com Port neWs gaged in talks to lease the terminal when it becomes idle in about 60 days. Oakland port officials also said they'd consider other uses for the soon-to-be- vacant terminal apart from container operations — a new prospect for the port, which has exclusively operated container operations for 50 years. Port officials believe the shutdown won't disrupt the handling of containers at the complex. "Oakland has excess capacity," Zampa said. "We can move ships and cargo from the terminal that is winding down operations and shift them to adjacent terminals with room to spare." Outer Harbor Terminal has oper - ated at the Oakland port for the past six years. The partners said the venture made a joint decision to transition out of Oakland. "Ports America has used that as an opportunity to refocus its West Coast strategy on the locations where it has multiple, larger sites," said Peter Ford, chief strategy officer for Ports America. Those future locations are key rivals of the Oakland port: the ports of Tacoma, Long Beach and Los Angeles. For its part, the Oakland port has been testing the operation of its gates at night and on weekends so that truckers and shipping lines would gain much more flex - ibility to move cargo in and out of the port. "By the end of the first quarter, the Saturday gate program will become permanent," Zampa said. The Oakland port also hopes to soon fin- ish negotiations with an unidentified com- pany or companies that could become a tenant at the soon-to-be-vacated terminal. "Talks are far along with potential tenants," Zampa said. "These would be maritime uses. But what those are would be open to a wide range of possibilities." For more of the San Jose Mercury News story: www.mercurynews.com 1/20: ChiNA ANd AlgERiA To bUild $3.3b MEgA PoRT Algeria and China signed a $3.3 billion deal on Sunday to build a new center transshipment port in Cherchell, a seaside town in the province of Tipaza, Algeria. The agreement was signed by officials from Algeria's Transport Ministry, China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) and China State Construction Engineer- ing Corporation (CSCEC). Under the deal, the two sides will create a consortium company to build the port, which will lie 55 miles west of capital city Algiers. The company is expected to be finalized in March 2016, with approval from the Council of State Shareholdings. The mega port will feature 23 docks capable of processing 6.5 million TEUs and 26 million tons of goods per year. According to forecasts by Algeria's Transport Ministry, port traffic in the country's central region is expected to hit 35 million tons or two million TEUs per-year by 2050. The project is planned to be com - pleted within seven years, and gradually put into service within four years with China's Shanghai Ports Group manag- ing the port. Bringing in Shanghai Port Group "would help driving international ship- ment traffic coming from Southeast Asia and other continents to pass from this Center Port, under transshipment process to continue sea transport to else - where, or use the Algerian highway and railway networks to carry shipments to Africa," said Algerian Transport Minister Boudjemaa Talai. Wen Jingfei, CHEC representative at the signing ceremony, told Xinhua that this project is important for the whole Mediterranean region and Africa. F o r m o r e o f t h e X i n h u a s t o r y : news.xinhuanet.com 1/18: CMhi bECoMES ThE SECoNd lARgEST ShAREholdER of ChiNA'S dAliAN PoRT China Merchants Holdings announced that, on 12 January 2016, it would take a 21.05 stake in Dalian Port for ap- proximately $555 million, making it the second largest shareholder for the East China port. "The entering of a share subscrip- tion agreement, which allows CMHI to become the second largest shareholder of Dalian Port after the completion, is one of the key strategic investments for CMHI to further improve the layout of existing ports network and to position the company to become a global leading comprehensive port-service provider going forward," said Li Jianhong, chair- man of the Board of Directors of CMHI. "Dalian Port, being a major shipping center in Northeast Asia and a hub in Northeast China, is of great strategic significance. The strategic and economic value of Dalian Port will gradually ma- terialize, with, on one hand, the govern- ment's plan of implementing measures to revitalize the economies of Northeast- ern region of China, and on the other hand, the establishment of China-Japan- South Korea Free Trade Area." One of the flagship enterprises in the port industry in Liaoning province, Da- lian Port has high tech infrastructure, op- erational technology and management, and is situated in a superior geographi- cal location. Dalian Port also has a wide range of dedicated terminals, includ- ing a 450,000-ton crude oil terminal, a 400,000-ton ore terminal, a container ter- minal that can accommodate mega ves- sels, and an automobile terminal. There are currently 13 international direct lines calling at Dalian Port, covering and con- necting to more than 160 countries and 300 terminals around the world. 2015 PoRT of loNg bEACh volUME UP 5.4 PERCENT, l.A. UP 2.1 PERCENT Propelled by rising cargo in the final two quarters of 2015, Southern Califor- nia ports recovered from systemic con-