Sweden’s port of Gothenburg is investing 1 billion kronor ($120m) in a new 220,000 sq.m freight terminal.
Construction of the terminal will begin in 2017 between the Alvsborg and Arendal harbours, and is expected to be complete at some point after 2020. The port has yet to announce what sort of goods the terminal will handle, but said it could combine several types of freight.
Last year, Gothenburg handled 820,000 TEU containers and 213,750 finished vehicles. That was a 2% drop in terms of container handling, but an increase in vehicle handling of almost 28%. Adding in crude oil imports, a total of 38.2m tonnes of freight was handled at the port in 2015.
Gothenburg port has yet to announce which external company will operate the terminal. "Exactly who it will be has not yet been decided, although we already know that there is considerable interest in operating a terminal at the largest port in the Nordic region," said the port’s CEO, Magnus Karestedt.
Vessels with a draught of 11-metres will be able to call at the terminal, according to the port, meaning that traffic will probably take the form of intra-European freight transport – either as a final destination or to the major transshipment hubs in northern Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium for onward global movements.
"We have already noted an increase in demand from the market. There is also a political ambition in Europe to switch more and more transport from land to sea in order to alleviate pressure on the roads and mitigate environmental impact," said Karestedt.
