DP World has added a new stacking crane module to its Antwerp port, completing the third phase of a €200 million ($219 million) investment plan.
According to DP World, the third phase of the project would provide clients with faster and greener solutions.
This year, the end-to-end supply chain solutions provider installed three quay cranes to load and unload ships, six automated stacking cranes, and nine hybrid straddle carriers (container lifts) in Antwerp.
This new infrastructure is part of a six-year investment plan to modernise, decarbonise, and expand the Antwerp Gateway Terminal in the Port of Antwerp’s Deurganckdok sector.
Due to these improvements, DP World will be able to stack roughly 1 million extra containers on the same surface area by 2026, while employing 100 per cent green energy and emission-reducing technologies.
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The European Union-supported €200 million ($219 million) green investment and enhancement plan will continue next year under the leadership of new CEO Nawaf Abdulla.
During this phase, two final new ZPMC cranes will reportedly be carried from Changxing, China, to the Port of Antwerp, where they will arrive in summer 2024.
There will now be 15 quay cranes on the DP World quay at the Deurganckdock. Another 24 automatic stacking cranes will be added, eight of which will be built next year.
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These upgrades come on the heels of the terminal’s recent addition of additional efficiency and security-enhancing systems, including as a truck driver app and fingerprint scanning technology for container pickup.
Nawaf Abdulla, the upcoming CEO of DP World Antwerp, said: “DP World continuously invests in the most advanced technologies and equipment. As an end-to-end supply chain solutions provider, we want to strengthen Antwerp Gateway’s competitive position by converting the terminal in a sustainable way and make it ready for the future with extra capacity and services for our customers.”
