THE multi-million dollar fifth phase of the Kingston container terminal expansion project is now almost complete with the arrival of two of six state-of-the-art cranes, which are expected to improve Jamaica’s position as a trans-shipment port on the world market.

Valued at US$7.5 million each, the Chinese-made super post panamax cranes were unloaded at the port yesterday, and will be commissioned within a month. They each measure 27m from bumper to bumper and have loaded hoist speeds of 174/194 ft per minute.

Expansion under phase five of the development plan costs US$240 million.

Phase five will be completed with the arrival of the four additional cranes – due by August this year – and the completion of the paving of the area between the terminal and the new highway.

The Port Authority, which began the upgrading of the terminal in the early 1990s, expects that the cranes will further boost efficiency at the trans-shipment port.

“The cranes will help to increase our productivity and handle the volume of cargo we are expecting,” chairman and CEO of the authority, Noel Hylton, told the Observer yesterday after the unloading of the equipment at the terminal, now managed by a subsidiary of the Danish shipping group, A P Moller (APM).

Minister of Housing, Transport, Water and Works Robert Pickersgill was also present for the occasion. He told the gathering that preliminary plans for Phase 6 are also under way, and that that leg of the process, which will involve the use of lands at Fort Augusta, should start by 2009.

Once completed, the entire expansion will allow the port to handle 3.2 million containers a year, up from a current rated capacity of 1.5 million.