Jun 05, 2008 Saigon Premier Container Terminal Selects Navis™ SPARCS N4 Terminal Operating System Operations at SPCT’s Greenfield Site Will Be Streamlined with Navis Software

OAKLAND, Calif. - Navis, a Zebra Technologies company and the world’s first company to automate marine terminal operating systems (TOS), has announced oday that Saigon Premier Container Terminal (SPCT) will implement the new Navis™ SPARCS N4 TOS to streamline operations at its greenfield site in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

SPCT is being built in the Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park and involves the construction of a 950 meter quay and facilities on 40 hectares of adjoining land. Development will be phased, with the Navis implementation scheduled to go live in January 2009.

“The design of N4 allows us to customize our TOS which is a key benefit that gives us control of the system,” said Henry Kwok, the Asia Pacific Director of Information Technology at DP World, one of SPCT’s major shareholders. “We naturally pick the Navis software, because we are confident in the company’s products.”

The SPCT project is an 80/20 joint-venture between DP World and the Vietnamese state-owned Tan Thuan Industrial Promotion Company (IPC). Upon completion, SPCT, which is located along the Western shore of the Soa Rap River, will have the capacity to handle 1.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs – a standard measure in intermodal transport) a year. Currently, DP World will provide IT support at SPCT and will hand it over to the local staff after SPCT is up and running.

Vietnam is the region’s second fastest growing economy with an average annual growth rate of 7.1% since 2000. Ho Chi Minh City, the economic centre of Vietnam, is currently served by various port and terminal facilities along the Saigon River, most of which have been identified for progressive closure over the next 10 to 15 years.

SPCT, located in close proximity to Ho Chi Minh City’s industrial hinterland, will eventually handle the cargo that currently moves through these ports as well as attract new volumes of cargo. The container market for Ho Chi Minh City grew by 20% in 2007.

“Our Navis SPARCS N4 product is our most sophisticated terminal operating system to date,” said Mark Welles, Navis’ Vice President of Sales in the Japan and Asia Pacific region. “Combining power, flexibility and ease-of-use, it is designed to help customers move containers intelligently and maximize the utilization of container handling equipment. The end result is a smoother operating yard and better overall return on investment.”



Port planning versus economic crisisWhen travelling around the world and visiting ports, I noticed that the financial crisis has not seemed to effect the ports as yet. The papers are full of disaster, but still people keep buying. However, we should still expect that the surge for more capacity will be affected by the problems in the US and in Europe. Maybe the focus will divert to South America and Africa, while Asia keeps developing at a high pace.
L.B. Attorney Susan Wise appointed to Harbor CommissionLong Beach Mayor Bob Foster has announced on November 10, 2008, that he has appointed Susan Wise to the Harbor Commission, which governs the Port of Long Beach -- one of the world's premier seaports. 

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