Page 5 - Sphere No.11 (Apr 2004)

S PHERE
3
bites
SNOWWONDER: Children were thrilled to
have their first encounter with real snow at
theWhampoa Snowy X’mas Carnival, held at
Wonderful Worlds of Whampoa in Hong Kong.
The 60 ft.-long “Sleigh Ride” was the most
popular feature.
Harbour Plaza Metropolis was
proud to be selected as the official
hotel to host “The 12 Girls Band”,
when they visited in January to
perform in Hong Kong.The
talented Chinese musicians
performed at the Hong Kong
Coliseum and also starred at a
celebration party at the
Promenade Restaurant.
Reflecting the growing demand for rail
transport, Port of Felixstowe (PFL)
set a new milestone during Dec. 8-14,
moving 6,676 containers. A total
of 22 inbound and
21 outbound
trains per day
from PFL’s North
and South Rail
terminals link
the port to
14 centres
throughout the
UK. PFL also
handles two
forest-products
trains per day
at its dedicated
paper-handling
rail terminal.
Queen Mary 2 , the world’s largest cruise ship,
docked at Cristobal CruiseTerminal on
March 9, receiving a warm welcome from
Panama Ports Company (PPC).
Although the majestic vessel is too big to
transit the Panama Canal Locks, Cristobal
is seen as an attractive cruise destination in
its own right.
Cristobal Cruise Terminal received two more
cruise vessels on the same day, Island Princess
and Aida Aura.
Xiamen International Container
Terminals (XICT) has purchased two
super post-Panamax quay cranes to further
strengthen the terminal’s productivity and
enhance the competitiveness of the Haicang
Port Zone.With the new equipment, XICT
has a total of eight quay cranes, all supported
by an upgraded IT system, and can
accommodate the latest generation 8,000-
plus TEU container vessels.
XICT Extends its Reach
Ensenada Cruiseport Village (ECV) on
the Baja California Pacific coast of Mexico
recorded its busiest year for cruise
passengers in 2003 with 442,767
passengers, a 39% increase.The busiest
month was October, with 56,172
passengers. Many of the guests were
passengers of Carnival and Royal
Caribbean cruise lines, which operate
three- and four-day cruises from southern
California. ECV also handled a wide range
of partial and full “homeport” operations
from several leading cruise lines.
Besides cruise ship activity, ECV finished
the year with an occupancy rate of 97% in
its Marina facility.
ECV Cruises to New Record Royal Arrival
SONG BIRDS
P O R T S
JICT Boosts Operations
Jakarta International Container Terminal
(JICT) in February acquired six new Rubber-
Tyred Gantry Cranes (RTGCs) and 13
terminal tractors. JICT now has a total of 50
RTGCs and 116 terminal tractors covering
a yard area of 46ha.
JICT has also finished
the construction of an
additional deepwater
quay, adding two berths,
and has implemented
a fully automated
container terminal
management system.
P R O P E R T Y & H O T E L S
Noted