Maritime
ICTSI´s Batumi terminal builds capacity
o facilitate bigger cargo flow
During the ribbon cutting ceremony marking
the formal inauguration of BICT’s multifaceted
expansion program (from left): Jemal Inaishvili
Partner of MSC Georgia and MEDLOG Georgia.
Ribbon cutting: Salvatore Prudente, Executive
Director of MEDLOG; Giorgi Kobulia, Minister of
Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia;
Hans Ole Madsen, ICTSI Senior Vice President and
Europe, Middle East and Africa head; and Tornike
Rizhvadze, Chairman of the Government of the
Autonomous Republic of Adjara.
Credit : ictsi.com
Commenting at the time of the inauguration, Mr. Madsen said: “This new investment
consolidates and expands BICT’s competitive position. A comprehensive dredging
program, undertaken in cooperation with Batumi Sea Port, provides an 11.5-meter
draught in the port’s fairway and alongside BICT’s quay line allowing easy access for
feedermax vessels at the port and making it Georgia’s deepest draught port.
I
nternational Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) formally
inaugurated the expansion of its Batumi International
Container Terminal (BICT) in Georgia.
The expansion encompasses both the waterside and
landside areas of the multipurpose terminal, intended to
optimize the processing of existing cargo flows and install
additional capacity to accommodate new business.
Marking the importance of the occasion, the inauguration
was attended by Giorgi Kobulia, Georgian Minister of Economy
and Sustainable Development; Tornike Rizhvadze, Chairman of the
Government of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara; senior executives
from Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC)–the terminal’s
principal container customer–and Hans-Ole Madsen, ICTSI Senior
Vice President and Europe, Middle East and Africa Head.
Commenting at the time of the inauguration, Mr. Madsen said:
“This new investment consolidates and expands BICT’s competitive
position. A comprehensive dredging program, undertaken in
cooperation with Batumi Sea Port, provides an 11.5-meter draught
22
in the port’s fairway and alongside BICT’s quay line allowing easy
access for feedermax vessels at the port and making it Georgia’s
deepest draught port.
“On the landside,” he continued, “we have met the stated requirement
of importers and established a new container freight station (CFS)
complete with a 180-meter rail spur to facilitate cross-stuffing from
containers to rail cars. Complementing this, we have also expanded
container and truck storage areas, and following the completion of a
new highway to Batumi, introduced a new, dedicated two-lane gate
complex for BICT.”
Batumi, unlike Potti–Georgia’s other major port–offers all-year
round access without closures due to high winds.
The overall development program for BICT raises annual container
handling capacity to 200,000 TEUs and boosts its general cargo and
dry bulk handling capacities. It further concurs with the Georgian
Government’s stated objective of growing Georgia’s role as a transport-
logistic hub serving the Caucasus and Central Asia. www.ictsi.com/