In a bid to ward off the inherent trade capacity crunch in the country, Israel is looking to spend around US$2 billion in the construction of two new container terminals at both the ports of Haifa and Ashdod, according to the Journal of Commerce.
By 2021, a container trade increase of 5% is anticipated for Israel, which will be helped along by the fact that both ports are able to handle the world’s largest containerships.
To read a Technical Paper on automation at the Port of Haifa, click here
Dov Frohlinger, COO of Israel Ports Company, said: “We want to make sure that our terminals are able to handle the largest vessel types that currently ply the Far East and Northern Europe trade routes.
“We are located very close to the Suez Canal and believe it is important for our economy to have the capability to handle 18,000-TEU and 19,000 TEU-vessels to allow our exporters to ship their goods as efficiently as possible direct to leading global markets.
To read a Technical Paper on the “infinite possibilities” of the Suez Canal, click here
“We expect to hand over part of both terminals to operators in about 2018, then it will take about one and a half years for them to complete construction work and bring the terminals up to operational status.”
