UAE-based port operator P&O Ports has won a three-year management contract to operate the container terminal in the Port de Sète in the south of France.
Under the deal, P&O Ports will operate a container yard with a draft up to 14,5 meters with 457 meters of quay and adjacent 2 hectares land. The container terminal is expected to commence operations in October 2017.
The company has the possibility to convert the contract to a long-term concession in the future.
Port de Sete is a deep draft port, handling frozen, chilled, general and breakbulk cargo, containers, ro-ro services and livestock alongside cruise and ferry terminals, a marina, cement handling facilities and an agro-industrial complex.
“Port De Sète has great potential and is ready to become another gateway port for France. In the early stages it will continue to primarily cater for feeder services in the eastern Mediterranean, the Maghreb region and North Africa,” Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of Ports Customs and Freezones Corporation (PCFC) in Dubai, said.
“Once development takes place with the backing of our regional partners we expect to see more multinational shippers use its services with other international destinations added over time,” Bin Sulayem added.
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