Babcock & Brown Infrastructure, the owner of PD Ports, has acquired 51 per cent of Water Container Transport NV, the second largest canal-based container port in Europe.
The Belgian container terminal is located in Meerhout, has 350ms of wharf on the Albert Canal and is a highly efficient terminal with berth performance around double the industry average. WCT has annual container throughput of over 170,000 teu.
David Robinson, chief executive officer for PD Ports, said: “At PD Ports we already have plans to increase our share of UK container flows through our Northern Gateway Container Terminal project for a major deep sea container terminal at Teesport. Furthermore, we also have outstanding planning applications already in process. Now with WCT, we can work directly with shipping lines serving a far wider customer base and serving new markets.”
The deal also gives Babcock & Brown Infrastructure the chance to acquire the remaining 49 per cent within 2 years.
