DP World-owned P&O Ports announced that it secured a three-year management contract to operate the container terminal in the Port de Sète in the south of France. Under the contact, UAE-based P&O Ports will operate a container yard with a draft up to 14.5m draft with 457 metres of quay and adjacent two hectares of land.
Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of Ports Customs and Freezones Corporation (PCFC) in Dubai, noted that Port De Sète has great potential and is ready to become another gateway port for France.
Mr Sulayem informed that in the early stages the terminal will continue to primarily cater for feeder services in the eastern Mediterranean, the Maghreb region and North Africa. But once development takes place he said, the terminal can expect to see more multinational shippers use its services with other international destinations added over time.
Port de Sète is strategically located as an entry point to the Region Auvergne-Rhône with direct inland waterway communications. It also forms part of the network of feeder routes in Italy, Spain and France with access to major hubs throughout the Mediterranean.