Cosco Eyes Spanish port of Algeciras
Algeciras Bay Port Authority in southern Spain has put up a tender for its third container terminal, and China's Cosco Shipping Ports is already being mentioned as a fore runner candidate, says a report by Caixin.
According to port authority, Algeciras is Spain's biggest container port and oil importing dock, and handled 2.3 million 20-foot containers in the first half the year – a 13 percent year on year increase.
Cosco Shipping Ports Ltd., the port operating arm of state-owned China COSCO Shipping Corp., is the world's fourth-largest container operator by capacity.
Its recent overseas shopping spree includes buying two-thirds of Piraeus, the largest port in Greece, for US$ 409 million last August and upping the stakes in Euromax Terminal Rotterdam BV, a container terminal operator in the Netherlands, to become its largest shareholder in May.
The Algeciras Port Authority on August 1 issued a tender notice calling for bidders to build and operate – for 50 years – a third terminal, which covers an area of about 37 hectares. Contenders have until November 30 to present proposals, which must include plans to automate the facility.