DP World on Thursday announced it is buying Maher Terminal’s Fairview Container Terminal in Prince Rupert, British Colombia, from Germany’s Deutsche Bank, for C$580 million ($457 million), positioning the Dubai terminal operator at one of the fastest growing gateways for Asia-North America trade.

The Dubai-based company said it expects to complete the Canadian acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval, in the second half of the year.

“Fairview Container Terminal offers the fastest access for vessels traveling between Asia and North America,” said Mohammed Sharaf, state-owned DP World’s group chief executive.

“The terminal also offers the highest productivity rates on the West Coast and an efficient rail link to the hinterland.”

The long-term concession to operate the terminal and the potential to expand, “presents a fantastic opportunity for DP World,” Sharaf said.

Fairview has a current annual capacity of 850,000 TEUs, which will rise to 1.35 million TEUs under a just-announced Phase 2 expansion.

The concession runs to 2034 with an extension to 2056 after the completion of the expansion program.

DP World already has a presence in Canada as operator of the Centerm terminal in Port Metro Vancouver.

The deal noticeably does not include the flagship Maher Terminals facility at the Port of New York and New Jersey. Including that facility in the deal would have reopened the political furor that erupted in 2006 over the Dubai-based company's acquisition of U.S. port leases as part of an acquisition of U.K.-based P&O Ports. The sale went through, but only after P&O Ports' U.S. assets were excluded from the deal.
(Source : www.joc.com)