DP World has kicked off the development of a new edible oil terminal at the Port of Berbera in Somaliland, which will reduce supply chain costs and create vital local jobs. It has already agreed to a long-term lease for the facility.

The edible oil terminal will be the latest addition to Berbera’s growing trade ecosystem, following the recent opening of the Berbera Economic Zone (BEZ), 15 km from the port along the Berbera to Wajaale road (Berbera Corridor) that connects to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.

DP World plans to transform Berbera, which sits alongside one of the world’s busiest sea routes, into an integrated maritime, logistics and industrial trade hub to serve the Horn of Africa, a region with a population of more than 140 million people.

The terminal will initially have a storage capacity of 18,000 tonnes, which will be expanded as demand grows. It will be able to service vessels with a draught of up to 16 metres, allowing Berbera Port to handle bulk imports of edible oil for the first time. The ability to import oil in bulk and package it locally will make edible oil more affordable for people in the region and create jobs locally.

The initial phase of the terminal is already fully leased on a long-term basis to Mzahim Investment LLC, a subsidiary of Essa Al Ghurair Investments (EGI) of the United Arab Emirates. Mzahim Investment will also develop a local packaging plant in Berbera to supply existing customers in Somaliland and the wider Horn of Africa, which could employ up to 100 people.

Suhail Albanna, CEO and Managing Director of DP World Middle East and Africa, said: “Our development of the edible oil terminal is a game changer for the region and is another example of how we are reducing the cost to trade by finding solutions that meet the needs of our customers, while having a positive impact on local communities in terms of job creation and easier access to goods. As part of the Berbera port and economic zone ecosystem, this facility is the type of integrated port infrastructure that attracts international investors such as EGI looking to get closer to their customers.”

Essa Abdulla Al Ghurair, Chairman of Essa Al Ghurair Investments, said: “As a UAE-based family business, we have traded with the region for nearly 40 years. Having a facility in Berbera will continue to strengthen our business ties with the region. The presence of DP World played a significant role towards encouraging businesses like ours to invest in the region. The Berbera edible oil facility will allow us to manufacture locally, ensuring essential commodities such as edible oil are affordable and freshly available to the locals. Through manufacturing, we can play a role in creating employment and nurturing talent, especially in the skilled and semi-skilled workforce.”

The Moín Container Terminal received its third largest vessel to ever berth at the port since operations began in February 2019. The Elma, operated by Shipping Line MSC, has a length of 299.9 meters and capacity of 9,408 TEUs.

As a result of the investment in infrastructure and equipment made by APM Terminals, the TCM can receive Post Panamax Plus ships, and simultaneously serve two ships with capacity of up to 8,500 TEUs each.

Together with connections for 3,800 refrigerated containers, this opens opportunities for Costa Rican companies that trade with other countries, through services with new rotations, connecting Ecuador, Peru and Europe (both North and the Mediterranean).

“This is achieved thanks to the capacity and productivity of the TCM,” said Victor Konen, Commercial Director of APM Terminals. “The deep draft of our berths coupled with the outreach of our cranes, allows us to receive ships up to four times larger than those that could previously be served in the Caribbean. These characteristics increase the attractiveness of TCM for a growing number of large vessels.”

New export opportunities

APM Terminals aims to break port paradigms in Limón, increasing the country’s port competitiveness and, in this way, opening new opportunities for export sectors.

The MSC Elma was built in 2016 and sails under the flag of the Republic of Portugal, is 299.9 meters long (length) and 48.20 meters wide (width).

Previously, the largest vessels received, include the Maersk Karachi (January 2022) with a length of 299.9 meters and capacity for 6690 TEUs; the MSC Sara Elena (November 2019) with a length of 299.95 meters and capacity for 8819 TEUs; and the Maersk Gateshead (September 2020), which is 292 meters long and has a capacity for 4800 TEUs.

APM Terminals engages in a strategic partnership with Vietnamese HATECO group for a project to develop two new deep-water berths at Lach Huyen port in Haiphong City located in the north of Vietnam.

As part of the strategic partnership, APM Terminals will provide financial, operational and technical support to HATECO Group Joint Stock Corporation (HATECO). The project aims to capitalise on the favourable natural conditions and geographical location of the area, with the objective of facilitating direct import and export of goods between the north of Vietnam and European and American markets. The project is also expected to directly create attractive opportunities for key customers and cargo owners in the north of Vietnam.

“We are proud of Hateco Haiphong International Container Terminal (HHIT) project, which is the largest and most modern container port facility in Vietnam. We are also excited to partner with APM Terminals and Maersk, who have been carefully chosen to be our long-term strategic partners due to aligned visions for the market and their capabilities to add value commercially and operationally,” comments Mr Tran van Ky, Chairman of HATECO Group.

“We are very pleased to partner with HATECO on this important project, further unlocking one of the rapidly growing and high-potential markets in South-East Asia. This involvement naturally underpins our ambition to grow where it benefits our customers, and that is clearly the case in Vietnam. We also believe in the win-win partnership with Hateco, which will create synergies between local expertise and our global capabilities,” comments Martijn van Dongen, Head of Investment at APM Terminals.

18,000 TEU Vessel Capacity

The project entails the investment into and development of two berths with the total length of 900 metres (450 metres each), capable of accommodating container vessels of up to 18,000 TEUs capacity.

The investor, HATECO, intends to complete all construction works and deploy equipment by the end of 2024 and the new terminal is expected to become operational by the first quarter of 2025. In the initial phase, the facility will have 5 ship-to-shore (STS) cranes and 14 rubber-tyre gantry (RTG) cranes.