IPC inaugurate the Haifa Carmel A container port

Delays in purchasing the cranes needed to operate the facility mean it will not be able to operate at full capacity for another year and a half
 
Israel Ports Development & Assets Company Ltd. (IPC) has given the Haifa Port management full responsibility for a new 290-dunam container port terminal, called Carmel A, which was built at a cost of NIS 1 billion. The Carmel A container terminal, adjacentto the existing port, will be one of the most advanced facilities in the world. It will include state-of-the-art port gates and a leading-edge computerized terminal operations system.
 
Mendi Zaltzman, Haifa port CEO, noted that the new Carmel A port project is one of the largest infrastructure projects at present, aiming to increase Haifa Port's container capacity by an extra 450,000 TEU a year.
 
Zaltzman added that the terminal took four years to build, and has new 700-meter and 250-meter docks.
 
The new terminal provides storage for 20,000 containers, stacked five containers high. The new terminal will be equipped with super post-Panamax cranes and rail mounted container stacking cranes. Delays in purchasing the cranes needed to operate the facility mean it will not be able to operate at full capacity for another year and a half.
 
Israel Ports Company chairman, Yiftah Ron-Tal, said the new terminal gives importers and exporters access to advanced port facilities, which will benefit the Israeli economy and will make the Haifa Port more competitive on a regional level.
 
The improvements will serve as a major economic stimulus for the Haifa area and the north in general, he said.