Singaporean foot in Gdansk
PSA International intends to participate in the purchase of the largest box terminal in Poland, which plays a key role as a gateway to Poland and Central and Eastern Europe.
The Singapore-based port and terminal operator PSA International has agreed with the Polish Development Fund and the fund manager IFM Investors that these three new partners will jointly acquire DCT Gdansk, the largest deep-water container terminal in Poland. The shares are being sold for around EUR 1.17 billion by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, amongst others, one of the current owners.
Gdansk is the only terminal in the Baltic Sea that is capable of handling the world’s largest container vessels, ULCVs, which have a capacity of as much as 23,000 teu, at its 1,306 m quays, which offer a depth alongside of 17 m. It is not least thanks to these qualities that the port, which is ice-free all the year round, has already initiated the division of the important trade lanes between Asia and Europe into the two Asia–Northwest Europe and Asia–Baltic Sea routes, PSA said.
Following a major capital increase, Gdansk’s capa- cities were approximately doubled in 2016, through the addition of a second berth. The volume of containers handled has increased steadily over the past few years, coming to 1.9 million teu in 2018. Today, Gdansk is one of the 15 largest container ports in all of Europe, handling Polish imports and exports as well as substantial amounts of transhipment and transit traffic.
Growth on the cards
Due to constantly growing international trade, the buyers want to sound out the possibilities for further expansion and capacity increases, PSA and its partners said. According to Tan Chong Meng, PSA International’s group CEO, “DCT Gdansk is PSA’s first investment in Eastern Europe. We’re really looking forward to working closely with our partners in the Polish Development Fund and IFM Investors, with the overall aim of further developing the Polish gateway’s facilities and of strengthening its favourable position as the preferred port of call for Poland as well as the entire Baltic Sea region.”
PSA will continue to operate its partnerships with shipping lines, logistics operators as well as cargo owners and shippers in its global network, in order to “deliver more efficient, more flexible as well as highly robust supply-chain solutions to the entire region,” Tan Chong Meng added.
Polish Development Fund CEO Paweł Borys pointed out that “this acquisition of a rather special asset will empower a combination of local and international interests. PSA’s operational know-how will reinforce DCT Gdansk’s further development. Our expansion plans, including construction of a new terminal, will leverage economic growth in Poland and all of Central and Eastern Europe.” Kyle Mangini, IFM Investors’ global head of infrastructure activities, also expressed his satisfaction with his corporation’s continued cooperation with PSA, which will allow his company to continue to fortify its presence in Poland.
