Information Pays > Europe > Portugal

Agency Details
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Isamar
Av. D Afonso Henriques, 1196-sala 1005,
4450-012 Matosinhos
Leixoes
Tel: (+351) 22 9364062
Fax: (+351) 22 9364069
E-mail: nunoleite@opo.isamar.pt / ncosta@opo.isamar.pt

Isamar
Av. D. Carlos I, 44 -7
1200-649 Lisbon
Tel: (+351) 213913012
Fax: (+351) 213971267
E-mail: adias@lis.isamar.pt

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Leixoes Port Information
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Location

The port of Lisbon is situated at latitude 38 degrees 42 minutes north and longitude 9 degrees 6 minutes west, the center of the Portuguese coastline.

The port is located on the Tagus estuary, which is 25 km long and between2 km and 14 km wide.

Maximum tidal rise is 4.4 metres.

The port's main access channel has a depth of 14.5 metres LST.

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Port Infrastructure

The port of Leixões (41º 11' N, 8º 42' W) serves the city of Porto and northern Portugal. It is an artificial harbour on the Atlantic Ocean, within the town of Matosinhos, 5.5 miles (9 km) northwest of central Porto. Porto is prevented by a sandbar from having a deepwater harbour of its own. The port is the largest in the the north of Portugal and is one of the most important sea ports in the country. About 25% of Portuguese trade and 14 million tons of cargo pass through the port every year. The port has high productivity levels and can handle 25 containers per hour, with 3,100 vessels calling each year.

The port has two container terminals: North side(360 m) and South side (540m).

The Leixões harbour is formed by two curved breakwaters that are 5,240 feet (1,597 m) and 3,756 feet (1,145 m) long.

The port's original docking facilities were completed in 1890 and were subsequently expanded in the early 1930s and early 1970s.

The principal export is port wine.

Location
Northern Portugal near the city of Porto on the Atlantic coast
Draft at Berth
North Container Terminal: 10m
South Container Terminal: 11m
No of Deepwater Quays
2 designated container quays
Length of Quay
5km in total
North Container Terminal: 360m
South Container Terminal: 540m
Cranes North Container Terminal: 2 quayside gantries with capacity of up to 35t and 5 transtainer gantries of 35t capacity
South Container Terminal: 2 quayside gantries with capacity of up to 35 and 40t. 4 transtainer gantries with capacity of 35 tons
Rail Connections
Linked to the national railway system
Warehousing/Storage North Container Terminal: 3,000 TEU's and 96 reefer plugs
South Container Terminal: 12,000 TEU's and 208 reefer plugs

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Lisbon Port Information
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Location & Background Information

Lisbon's principal container terminals of Alcantara, Santa Apolonia and Santos are located on the Northern Bank, where the quayside extends to a total length of nearly 18m. The Alcantara terminal is linked to the national rail network and block train services helped Liscont to develop a useful level of trade with the Port of Vigo, in northern Spain, and with northern Portugal.Santa Apolonia is the biggest container terminal in capacity terms.

Lisbon is a fine natural deepwater harbour and its, together with its prime locationat westernmost point of mainland Europe, where the river Tagus meets the Atlantic Ocean,has enabled the port to develop its seaborne trade for more than 1,000 years.

Lisbon is a key centre for distribution and transhipment - a role that has grown in importance as a result of Portugal closer trading links with fellow members of the European Union, in particular Spain. A notable feature of Lisbon is the exceptionally long length and spacious layout of its harbour.

As multifunction port, it handles close on 13 million tonnes of waterborne cargo annually. This traffic covers an extremely wide range of commodities. These include breakbulk, cars, containers , dry and liquid bulk, general cargo, grain, ore, iron, project cargo, fruit and RORO.

Boasting dedicated cargo terminals on both sides of the river, Lisbon prefers to handle liquid bulk and other sensitive cargo mostly on the south bank, away from the city itself. Other specialized facilities, including cement plants and grain silos are spread along the northern bank between Lisbon and the upriver port of Vila Franca de Xira.

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Accessibility

Lisbon is accessible by all modes of transport. The port is fully linked to the national rail network, allowing it to take advantage of block train services to speed containers on their way to and from the north. In recent years, Lisbon has adapted well to modern requirements for multimodal cargo handling facilities- particularly for containers and ro-ro traffic. Lisbon's cargo handling specialists are equipped to provide fast, smooth turnarounds for modern shipping, while an improved network of roads and railway allows freight to be moved to and from the hinterland of Portugal and Spain with maximum efficiency.

Road access to the Port of Lisbon has been greatly improved by the opening of a second bridge in 1998 over the River Tagus together with improvements to the existing bridge.

Some companies have provided Lisbon with so-called "second tier terminals" which are inland terminals equipped to handle both road and rail traffic.These new facilities allow importers and exporters to pick up and set down their cargoes near their own premises.

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Industry and Trade

The shortsea container trade is continuing to grow and Lisbon Port Authority has been working with other ports and projects to open up new feeder routes. Lisbon has strong links with hub ports in northern Europe and the UK as well as the major Spanish hub port of Algeciras. In addition operate liner services linking Lisbon with Portuguese Atlantic Islands. Azores and Madeira. Lisbon container terminal has built up a steady trade with direct services between Lisbon and Canada, the United States, Brazil, Uruguay, South Africa, Senegal, Australia, New Zealand, Cyprus, Israel, Malta and many European ports.

Maximum draft:
13 metres
Port infrastructure:
16 km of wharfs with adjacent depths of -4 to -17m
Storage areas:
Covered area: 250,000 square metres, including warehouses, sheds and other buildings.
Open air storage: 760,000 square metres, providing bonded warehouses, free quays and licensed areas allotted to private operators
Accessibility:
The port is fully linked to the national rail network

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Port News
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EIB Finances Expansion Of Port Of Barcelona - 10/12/09
The European Investment Bank [EIB] has approved a €150 m loan for the expansion of the Port of Barcelona. Barcelona is one of the Mediterranean’s most important ports and a key part of the trans-European transport network. The project will enable the Catalonian port to create new areas devoted to container and short sea shipping [SSS] traffic, as well as developing the necessary road and rail links to the internal market.

The loan will help to finance the expansion of the port, including the enlargement of the South Quay [site of the Barcelona container terminal] and the relocation of the company CLH’s berths; the relocation of Port Nou terminal’s activity to the Adossat Quay and construction of a new short sea shipping terminal at the Costa Quay; and the building of 500m of quayside with a depth of 16.5m and 37 hectares of new terminal area at the Prat Quay, along with the construction of road and rail links. [DN 10/12/09]

Lisbon Clears The Decks For Alcântara Expansion - 14/05/09
Despite local protests, the port remains on target to triple capacity at the Liscont box terminal by 2013. The port of Lisbon is moving ahead with plans to upgrade its Alcântara Container Terminal, despite local protests over the €407m ($555m) investment. The objective of the project is to expand the Alcântara terminal’s capacity to 1million teu, from its current 350,000 teu, and allow larger ships to access the port. Portugal’s largest construction company, Mota-Engil, will build and operate the terminal, having invested €227m of the €407m into the project through its subsidiary Liscont. The rest is being funded by the Port of Lisbon Port Authority and Refer, which is responsible for rail infrastructure in Portugal.

“ After the agreement signed in October 2008 regarding the new limit of concession (until 2042) the project is in development,” said Manuel Frasquilho, chairman of the board of directors at the Port of Lisbon Authority. In the first phase, the project plan established the demolition of some buildings at the terminal and, in fact, they have already been demolished. “During 2009, the project will advance like planned and an environmental impact study will be developed. With the implementation of the Alcântara project, it will be possible to receive the most advanced containerships — placing the port of Lisbon in a unique competitive position in the Iberian and European context. This will be complemented by intermodality; the reinforcement of railroad transportation and the revitalisation of river traffic — a critical factor in the connection to current and future platforms that will be installed in the region. With this project the port of Lisbon fulfils its mission as a factor of value creation, of interconnection between Portugal and the world and of the affirmation of Portugal in a context of globalisation.”

However, there has been opposition over the awarding of the tender process and whether or not Lisbon actually needs the terminal expansion. Miguel Sousa Tavares, who heads the Lisboa e Tejo e Tudo group that opposes the Alcântara terminal expansion plan, said: “This construction is absurd, unnecessary and harmful to Lisbon.”

But Portugal’s Office of Port and Maritime Transport has recently found that the extension granted to Liscont for the concession of the Alcântara Container Terminal is not anti-competitive. It also examined the fact Liscont’s majority shareholder, Mota-Engil (82.95%), also has interests in other terminals in the port.

Meanwhile, the port suffered a slight drop in total cargo volumes last year, handling 13m tonnes in 2008 — compared with 13.9m tonnes in 2007. Last year, the port of Lisbon handled 556,000 teu (up 0.2% on 2007) at its box terminals - Alcântara (Liscont), Santa Apolónia (Sotagus) and Lisbon Multipurpose (Transinsular) - and the Port of Lisbon Port Authority expects containerised cargo for 2009 to be on a par with last year despite the global economic downturn.

The Port of Lisbon Port Authority is also developing its logistics platform. “Some projects for the revitalisation of river traffic, mainly for container cargo and grain bulk cargo, are under study,” said Mr Frasquilho. “The goal is to connect the container terminals and the grain bulk terminals of the port of Lisbon to the logistics platforms, namely at Castanheira do Ribatejo.”
The port of Lisbon complies with the most recent international safety and protection measures, such as the International Shipping and Port Facilities Safety Code, and is currently implementing the Container Safety Initiative programme. [LL 14/05/09]

Leixões Turns Its Focus To Logistics And Cruise As Revamp Gathers Pace - 14/05/09
Leixões is halfway through its massive 10-year revamp of the port and its surrounding area. In 2004, the Port Authority of Leixões unveiled a strategic development plan to totally transform the north Portuguese port. And 5-years on, many of the projects are now coming on stream. Last year saw the opening of an exclusive road [VILPL] out of the port, linking the port exclusively to the country’s motorway network. And late last year saw the port’s new multipurpose terminal become operational, which is mainly designed to improve shortsea shipping, either ro-ro or lo-lo, as well as general cargo trade at the port.

These are all in addition to earlier channel dredging to a depth of 12 and the replacement of an old drawbridge — both developments giving bigger ships greater access to the port. And this year, the focus is on a new €155m [US$211m] logistics platform, which will be situated on two separate sites less than 5 km from the edge of the port — occupying an area of 60 ha, with activity due to start in the coming months. Work on the design of a new high-speed rail link to Lisbon and beyond, from within the port boundary, is also set to commence later this year. The logistics platform is expected to start operations in 2011. The Port Authority of Leixões will build a management company, but will remain as owner of the land and grantor of the logistic activity. Soon, the tender for the construction, management and promotion of the platform will be launched - for a maximum period of 30 years.

A new cruise terminal and quay, which will allow the mooring of vessels up to 300m long, are also expected to be up and running by 2011. Also in the pipeline are redevelopment of the South Container Terminal and a comprehensive environmental management programme which aims to clean up the port and its surrounds. During 2009 the port will try to demonstrate the use of the new multipurpose terminal, to create conditions for the enlargement of the container parking area and, also, to strengthen the cooling system of the port of Leixões. And the port of Leixões is very keen to improve its intermodal connections at the facility. The growth of the hinterland of the port of Leixões is closely related with the success of the railroad and sees with great interest the new Iberian connections by rail, which will start this year. The only sustainable way for Leixões to extend its hinterland to Galicia and Castilla-Leon is dependent on greater railway competitiveness. For this reason, Leixões is designing, within the port area, the construction of a rail terminal.

The port authority believes the success of the VILPL road shows how increased connectivity to inland markets can only be of benefit to its operations. The port of Leixões became more competitive through the setting up of a new gateway to the main road network supported in an exclusive access road, the VILPL. The VILPL is a road access that enables faster access for heavy vehicles and their respective loads to and from the port of Leixões. With an investment of €16m, the new gateway is a complete computerised platform, fitted with the most recent and adequate infrastructures, aimed at simplifying all procedures related to the entrance/exit of heavy vehicles and their respective loads at the port of Leixões.

Last year, the port of Leixões handled 15.6m tonnes of cargo, up 4.6% on the 14.9m tonnes handled in 2007. Its best performers were liquid bulk (+6.5%) and containerised cargo (+4.7%), and for the first time in a decade the downward trend of dry bulk was reversed. Leixões continues to be the second biggest port in the Portugal in terms of volume. Container throughput at the port was 450,026 teu, an increase of 3.82% on the 433,486 teu handled in 2007. However, the port expects the global economic crisis to hit volumes at Leixões in 2009. The Port Authority of Leixões’ latest forecasts predict that total cargo will fall by just over 6% to 14.7m tonnes while it expects box throughput to show a modest rise to 455,000 teu. Total cargo at Portugal’s main ports (million tonnes): [LL 14/05/09]

Major Investment in Lisbon Port Containers' Terminal - 12/01/09
To meet the growing demand at Lisbon Port during the last couple of years, its container terminal, Terminal de Contentores de Alcântara [TCA], will undergo major restructuring until 2013. The objective of this project is to expand the terminal’s capacity to 1 million TEU per year up from the current 350,000 TEU limitation. Liscont [www.liscont.pt], the company awarded the dealer services agreement for Alcântara terminal is to invest Euro 227-million in this project. The NovAlcantara project will also involve changes in the urban/containers rail connections and public area access. The investment will be covered by the Lisbon Port Administration [Euro 75-million] and by REFERNational Railway Network [Euro 106-million]. The Cascais suburban railway line will cross a tunnel in Alcantara area, allowing direct connection with central Lisbon and other railway and underground lines. In order to reduce the traffic in the city, infrastructures will be created to develop the containers` transportation by rail and river. [UKTI 12/01/09]

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Contacts and Links
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APDL - Administração dos Portos do Douro e Leixões, SA
Avenida da Liberdade
4451 - 851 Leça da Palmeira
Portugal
Tel: (351) 22 999 0700
Fax: (351) 22 995 5062
Web: www.apdl.pt

Port Authority
Lisbon Port Authority
Rua de Junqueira, 94 1300 Lisbon
Tel: (+351) 1 363 7151
Fax: (+351) 1 364 3114

Leixoes Terminal: TCL
OTAL Marketing I CMA-CGM Group Company I Last Updated: 23/07/07
Terminal de Contentores de Leixões, S.A.
R. Mouzinho de Albuquerque
13 - 1º - 4450-204 MATOSINHOS Tel: (+351) 22 939 41 00
Fax: (+351) 22 937 88 05
Website: www.tcl-leixoes.pt

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