Tartous International Container Terminal

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In November 2006, Tartous Port General Company (TPGC), the port authority of Tartous, signed a ten year concession agreement with Philippine International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) to upgrade and operate the container terminal at the port of Tartous, 250 km from Damascus, the capital city of Syria. At the end of ten years, the concession agreement allowed for a possible extension for another five years. In 2004, Tartous International Container Terminal (TICT) had handled 52,628 twenty foot equivalent units (TEU) and 9.7 million total cargo tonnage. ICTSI established a fully owned local subsidiary, Tartous International Container Terminal jsc, to implement this project. ICTSI won the concession in an international competitive tender conducted by TPGC in October 2005. It is not clear what the bidding variable was (largest investment or revenue sharing) based on information available from public sources. The other three firms that participated in the tender were French megaliner CMA CGM, Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport/Gulf Stevedoring, and OPM/PWC Logistics. ICTSI planned to invest US$ 37 million (over the lifetime of the concession) to improve facilities and upgrade equipment at the port, including major investments in modern container handling equipment, IT systems and manpower. Under the concession agreement, ICTSI was expected to pay TPGC fa yearly fixed and variable fee per TEU. ICTSI was expected to take over the operations of TICT in early 2007. None None