Mar.13--THE municipality of Waalwijk in southern inland Netherlands will be calling for tenders in May or June for the construction of a container terminal on the Bergsche Maas canal for an estimated US$38 million.
Plans for the box facility, which should be possible to handle vessels of up to 135 metres, is at an advanced stage, according to Clarkson's Dredging News Online.
The current terminal, which handles 45,000 TEU a year, is situated behind a lock, which limits the capacity of the vessels to 89 metres with a capacity of 40 TEU per ship.
The municipality of Waalwijk will pay part of the costs and rest will come from EU subsidies.
Entrepreneurs currently involved in container handling have promised to contribute annually via a port fund. Negotiations on a contribution are still under way with the province of Noord-Brabant. Tenders will be invited via the "Design, Build, Finance and Maintain" method.
Under this method the costs will be spread over 25 years, including the maintenance. The financiers, therefore, only need to pay their contribution during the course of the contract.
(Source:shippingazette)