The Baltic Container Terminal (BCT), which a Maltese company operates since the 1990s, will invest €30 million over the course of the next three years aiming to establish its position as the main recipient of products in the region.
Located in Riga, Latvia, the terminal is the only dedicated facility in the region. Now, BCT’s Chief executive officer Edward Hili, informed that they will be investing in further 200 metres of quay space, in order to make the terminal capable of accommodating bigger container ships. In addition, the company has also ordered a new crane, which will come to add to the existing four in the terminal. The crane is expected to be delivered in 2020.
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According to Mr. Hili, the BCT can handle up to 450,000 containers per year, while in 2018, the facility handled 292,000 containers. This number is slightly less than the 303,000 of the previous year, which was a record.
Regarding its daily operations, they are monitored via a control system, while it also incorporates a fully-automated gate security, which photographs each container and truck that arrives. The information gathered is then available in real-time for the clients to track their cargo.
What is more, a warehousing facility with an additional 11,000 square metre warehouse is also available. This facility is expected to be completed within a few months, increasing the overall warehouse space to 42,000 square metres.
Finally, as Mr. Hili noted, the quay extension project, which is planned to begin in the beginning of 2020, will increase the quay by 50 metres, which will eventually be at 500 metres. Dredging will also take place, aspiring to grow the depth to 14 metres, to welcome bigger vessels. Once the works are done, BCT will be able to handle two vessels of 225 metres in length at the same time.
