Finance deal paves way for port expansion

The deal is part of a memorandum of understanding to “quickly build” the long desired Berth 4 at the expanding Cuxport Terminal on the Elbe North Sea Estuary downstream from Hamburg. It was signed by the managing directors of Cuxport, Andreas Schmidt and Hans-Peter Zint, and by Olaf Lies, the transport minister of the federal state of Lower Saxony in which Cuxhaven lies.

The Lower Saxony Government said it would pay the costs of Berth 4 construction in advance and estimated those costs at €35m. It said Cuxport had pledged to re-finance the costs over a period of 30 years and had also agreed to increase its cargo handling volumes.

The new Berth 4 is now scheduled to be completed by 2017 at the latest. It will provide another 290m of quayside as well as space for warehousing and operational facilities at the Cuxport Terminal. Water depth alongside will be suitable for multi-purpose, sea-going ships of up to 240m in length drawing maximum 14.3m. The construction will also add 85,000 m2 of available port handling space to the terminal.

Cuxport spokesman Matthias Arnhold told Maritime Journal it was still too early to say who would be commissioned to carry out the construction. Lower Saxony spokeswoman Dörte Schmitz added that the agreement with Cuxport “had demonstrated the state’s desire to realise this construction project. We regard that as a positive signal and will start work immediately. Legal and financial questions now have to be discussed and the technical details planned.”

There is now little to stop work starting. Planning permission was obtained in May 2012 as part of approval for the expansion of the Europakai, of which Berth 4 will form part.

Soon after that, Cuxhaven officials said cargo was being turned away because there was not enough space to handle it and appealed to Lower Saxony to take the initiative. The same appeals were reported in 2013 as Cuxhaven increased its significance as a wind farm components supplier and vehicle handling centre.

Explaining the reasons behind the Lower Saxony agreement now with Cuxport, Olaf Lies said the federal state was “well aware of the huge significance of its ports. The construction of Berth 4 at Cuxhaven will create the conditions for further growth in the port sector on the North Sea Coast and thus pave the way for new jobs.”

Average annual cargo handling growth of 3.3% is now predicted up to 2030, increasing handling to 4.1 million tonnes. Last year the port handled 3.5 million tonnes and 370,000 vehicles.

By Tom Todd