International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) and Société de Gestion du Port Autonome de Toamasina (SPAT) signed a 15-year extension of the concession for the Madagascar International Container Terminal.
The concession extension runs from 2025 through to 2040. ICTSI has held the concession since 2005 through its wholly owned subsidiary Madagascar International Container Terminal Services Limited (MICTSL).
The extension agreement was signed by Valery Ramonjavelo, SPAT chairman, and Hans-Ole Madsen, ICTSI senior vice president and head of EMEA in presence of the Minister of Transport and Meteorology, Minster of Justice, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“We are very grateful to His Excellency, President Andry Rajoelina, the Government of Madagascar and SPAT for the timely and well-structured port expansion programme. We are proud to work with SPAT and all involved parties to continue to deliver state-of-the-art container handling capacity and service,” said Hans-Ole Madsen, ICTSI senior vice president and head of EMEA
The Port of Toamasina is the main maritime gateway for Madagascar and throughout its tenure MICTSL, working in conjunction with SPAT, has added capacity and streamlined services in line with the needs of Madagascar’s diverse import and export community.
Significantly, the concession extension complements the $639m port expansion project now underway in Toamasina – with $411m provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and $227m by the Government of Madagascar.
A new 756-metre container berth, with a draught of -16 metres alongside and equipped with ship-to-shore container gantries, is central to plans to provide for increases of vessel size up to a capacity of 14,000 teu.
Infrastructure improvements on the landside will see the addition of a 15-hectare container yard as well as a new gate complex, a modern workshop and extensive security infrastructure. Reefer capacity will be extended from the present 120 plugs to +400 plugs.
MICTSL handles over 90% of the Madagascar’s annual container throughput.
Source: Seatrade Maritime News
