Modern Terminals adds a further 10 RTGs to CT9's advanced equipment fleet | Press Release

21 Aug 2003

Modern Terminals adds a further 10 RTGs to CT9's advanced equipment fleet

Hong Kong container terminal operator Modern Terminals Limited signed a contract ordering 10 Rubber-tyred Gantry Cranes (RTGs) from Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery Co., Ltd. on 14 August 2003. The RTGs will be deployed at Modern Terminals' new Container Terminal 9 (CT9) facility, which is now coming on stream in phases at Kwai Chung Port in Hong Kong.

The RTGs will have a reach of one over six high and one plus six wide, and a maximum handling capacity of 50 LT under spreader for twin-lift operation. They will also incorporate an array of advanced technology and automation features. Their Container Management System will indicate Container Bay Row Tier positions using Global Positioning Systems. It will communicate with the terminal operation control centre via a Radio Data Transmission on Vehicle-mounted Terminal (RDT VMT) system, for better container management and working efficiency. In addition, container-handling time will be reduced and productivity and safety standards will be enhanced by means of a Container Stacking Profile and Spreader Path Optimization system.

Speaking at the contract-signing ceremony in Shanghai, Mr Erik Bogh Christensen, Managing Director of Modern Terminals, pointed out that the RTGs are just one element in an array of state-of-the-art equipment which the company is deploying to make the new operation one of the most technologically advanced and efficient container-handling facilities in the world. "We are investing heavily to ensure that our new berths will deliver maximum productivity, the highest safety standards and optimal levels of service to our customers," he said.

Mr Christensen added that Zhenhua Port Machinery was chosen to provide the RTGs on the basis of the good working relationship that already exists between the two companies, as well as the performance of 10 RTGs previously supplied by the company and currently deployed at Modern Terminals' existing facilities. The new cranes will be delivered to CT9 in mid-2004.

CT9 is the largest single terminal infrastructure project ever undertaken in Hong Kong. The first berth owned by Modern Terminals will become operational during the fourth quarter of this year. When it is fully completed, Modern Terminals will own and operate four of the six berths at CT9 (South), giving the company 1,240 metres of contiguous quayside frontage, plus a terminal area of 48.85 hectares. Together with its existing facilities at Terminals 1, 2 and 5, and associated productivity enhancements, the completion of CT9 (South) will boost Modern Terminals' throughput capacity to 5.5 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) per annum.

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Modern Terminals in brief

Modern Terminals has been continuously aiming for service excellence ever since it opened Hong Kong's first purpose-built container terminal in September 1972. In 2000 it established ModernPorts, Hong Kong's first one-stop e-business portal providing a wide range of port-related services for the shipping community. In February 2003, it jointly established OnePort Limited with other terminal operators to improve the efficiency of business processes in the Hong Kong Port through an open, secure and neutral platform for exchanging electronic information. In 2002, the company launched the PRD Inland Gate, a unique network of dedicated daily feeder services that provide a faster, more efficient, cost-effective and reliable means of moving containers between Hong Kong Container Port and major manufacturing centres in the Pearl River Delta. Apart from optimizing its core business in Hong Kong Port, Modern Terminals has also been actively expanding into China in recent years.

Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery Co., Ltd. in brief

Zhenhua Port Machinery is a world-class manufacturer of cranes and large steel structures. Its main products include quayside cranes, RTGs, bulk material ship loaders and unloaders, bucket-wheel stackers and reclaimers, portal and floating cranes, engineering vessels, and large steel bridge structures. It has four manufacturing bases and its 600 engineers form one of the most experienced design team in the industry. Of its 700 certificated welders, 400 hold international welding certificates. Zhenhua Port Machinery is one of only two Chinese companies to have been certified by the American Institute of Steel Constructions. Its products are currently in use in 34 countries and regions around the globe. According to "World Cargo News", Zhenhua Port Machinery has had the world's biggest order book for large container cranes for the past three years.

Issued by Modern Terminals Limited
(Web site: http://www.ModernTerminals.com)

Modern Terminals adds a further 10 Rubber-tyred Gantry Cranes to CT9's advanced equipment fleet

Modern Terminals signs a contract ordering 10 Rubber-tyred Gantry Cranes from Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery Co., Ltd. on 14 August. The contract is signed by Mr Erik Bogh Christensen, Managing Director of Modern Terminals (fifth from right); and Mr Guan Tong Xian, General Manager of Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery Co., Ltd. (fourth from left).