The Port of Oslo signed a deal yesterday (Wednesday 15th) to lease both its container terminals to Turkish terminal operator Yilport Holding for twenty years, with the option of a 10-year extension.
Port director Anne-Sigrid Hamran, who believes Yilport is the best choice to develop and operate the container terminal, said: “Yilport Holding was chosen because they share our goal of doubling cargo flows in order to serve Oslo’s growing population and boost the economy.”
Oslo handled 200,000 teu last year, 30% of Norway’s container volume and is the largest port in the country.
It recently started to relocate container volumes within the port from Oslo Container Terminal, which operates in Ormsund, to a new container facility at Sjursøya, located outside of the centre of Oslo, which will eventually have a capacity of 450,000 teu.
In July this year, the Port of Oslo named Yilport as the new operator of the Sjursøya container terminal against four other international port operators. With this latest agreement, both terminals will now be taken over by the company.
The CEO of Yilport Holding Sean Pierce said: “For now, our immediate focus is establishing a rail connection to expand the market and offering an integrated service package. We have a long-term commitment to turn Yilport Oslo into the preferred gateway for all Norwegian cargo.”
He continued: “The port has lost some of its competitive advantage and Yilport, in partnership with the Port of Oslo, will focus on improving the quality of the services provided to customers.”
Yilport will take over responsibility for operations in February 2015 and will integrate the Port of Oslo Crane Department with Yilport Oslo.
In a statement, Yilport said that it would work closely with the port authority to “commission the most environmentally-friendly RTGs [rubber tyred gantry cranes] in the world in order to minimise the impact on the environment and the Oslo community”.
The addition of Yilport Oslo is part of Yilport’s mission of being a top-10 international port operator by 2025.
In a statement, the company said it had “big plans for further expansion in Northern Europe as well as other regions in the world.”
