NEW Transport Minister Mike Henry on Tuesday toured the Kingston Container Terminal (KCT) to get a first-hand view of the US$240-million expansion programme underway and to see the offloading of four new gantry cranes.

The new 65-ton cranes bring to six the number of new cranes which will be in operation at the Western berth in the next two months.

This latest addition, according to Henry, will increase the KCT’s capacity by more than 100 per cent from its 2005 rated capacity of 1.5 million units (20-ft) to 3.2 million units when completed.

The minister said he planned to complement this expansion with the Vernam Field development in his Central Clarendon constituency.

“Transport can only develop where the four elements of transport – air, sea, road and rail – meet, and in that case Jamaica offers the greatest potential along the equator for this kind of development,” Henry said.

Kingston’s port has now moved to the number two position in the region and 48th among the world’s top 120 container ports. However, Henry promised not to rest until the port is number one in the world.

By 2013, the entire terminal space should be fully utilised, with plans already in place for the next phase of expansion of the facility.

The timeliness of the ongoing expansion and plans by the Port Authority of Jamaica for the next phase of expansion, Henry said, should be recognised in the decision of the Panamanian Government to widen the Panama Canal to accommodate larger vessels.

The canal will be able to accommodate vessels carrying up to 12,000 20-foot equivalent units by the completion of its expansion in 2014.

“Of particular note is that Jamaica is already capable of handling such large vessels, but with the expansion of Kingston Terminals, the facility will attract more vessels which come through the Panama Canal,” Henry said.

He added that Kingston, with its comprehensive transportation network into the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe and the Far East was becoming increasingly attractive in the region.

“No one can say the facility is not stepping with the times when the ongoing efforts are geared at increasing the rated capacity of the terminal’s transshipment facilities by over 100 per cent of its 2005 rated capacity,” said Minister Henry.

Meanwhile, chairman of the Port Authority Noel Hylton said Jamaica has been able to compete with the rates of the four other major ports in the region.

“We feel that we can compete with all the ports in the region because we have the old cost and the new cost and, when you merge them together they are still competitive in charging for the services,” Hylton said.

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