 | Panama Ports Company S. A. A member of the Hutchison Port Holdings Group Port of Balboa Bldg. 39, Arnulfo Arias Madrid Ave. Balboa, Ancon, Panama Republic of Panama Tel: (507) 232-6025 Fax: (507) 232-6583 Mail troetsch.rommel@ppc.com.pa |
| Contact: Telephone: Fax: | Rommel Troetsch G. (507) 232-6025 (507) 232-6583 |
[Panama - 14th November 2000] Panama Ports Company, S.A. (PPC) announces the official inauguration of its world class Container Terminal at the Port of Balboa.
PPC has invested US$ 120 million in the new container handling facilities at the Balboa Container Terminal. Located on the Pacific side of the Republic of Panama, Balboa is one of the most strategic locations in Latin Amercia providing transhipment services for the world’s major carriers operating on trans Pacific routes.
Balboa Container Terminal provides 350 metres of quay, 12.9 metres of draft, 8.4 hectares of container yard equipped with 3 super post Panamax quay cranes, 9 Rubber Tyred Gantry Cranes and 468 reefer plugs, for an annual handling capacity of 600,000 TEUs.
"It is our vision that the Port of Balboa will quickly become one of the major transhipment hubs for the world's container shipping lines. There is enormous potential for cargo movement to and from the West and East Coasts of the United States of America, the Caribbean and South America," pointed out Mr. John E. Meredith, Group Managing Director of Hutchison Port Holdings and President of PPC.
Commenting on the new services Mr. Alejandro Kouruklis General Manager of PPC said, Our goal is to provide world class service to all major carriers to further enhance their options to transport cargo to and from Asia and the Americas."
Note to editors:
Panama Ports Company (PPC) operates the ports of Cristobal and Balboa located at each end of the Panama Canal. A major phased upgrade is underway to transform the two ports into major hubs to serve the Atlantic and Pacific trade routes. When modernisation is completed, PPC will have a combined annual handling capacity of 900,000 TEU.
PPC is a member of Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH), an independent port investor, developer and operator with operations in 19 ports in Asia, Europe and the Americas.
