One of the bidders for the cargo handling contract, T F Shipping Agencies Limited, a subsidiary of the Tumas Group, has partnered with a leading shipping specialist from Singapore, The Malta Independent on Sunday has learnt.
The partner is Portek International Limited. The Portek Group of companies started operating in 1988 and over the last 17 years has become a leading turnkey provider of equipment, services and solutions for the global port industry.
Portek is headquartered in Singapore and operates mainly in the Asia Pacific region. It has been listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange since March 2002.
Its activities are multifarious: it owns and leases cranes; undertakes crane modification and modernisation; it is a system integrator of crane drives and automation; it is provider of productivity solutions to ports and it markets crane components and spares. In addition, it has moved into terminal operations, as a natural extension of its equipment leasing and sale business.
As a natural extension of its equipment leasing and sale business, Portek has, in response to customers’ request for risk and revenue sharing, diversified into joint operation arrangements in some container and multi-purpose terminals. With a strong record in providing terminals worldwide with equipment and productivity solutions, Portek has been able to quickly position itself as an efficient operator of small and medium sized container terminals. This unique combination of engineering, terminal management and marketing expertise enables Portek to quickly gear up the capacity of a terminal, establish its infrastructure and operations and build up container traffic.
It currently operates and manages, together with partners, five container and multipurpose terminals. Four of them in Indonesia and one in Algeria.
In September this year, the company broke into the European market with orders worth USD19.2 million. The orders from Europe consist of a quayside crane to Terminal de Contenidors de Barcelona in the Spanish port of Valencia, and the repair and re-commissioning of a quayside crane in the French port of Dunkerque.
These two orders represent Portek’s first major orders from Europe following the company’s recent establishment of new European offices in Luxembourg and the United Kingdom.
In the last financial year ending 30 June, Portek Group’s gross profits rose by 26 per cent to SGD (Singapore Dollars) 22.2 million (Lm4.7 million) from SGD17.6million (Lm3.7 million) in financial year (FY) 2004. Revenues for FY 2005 rose by 21.1 per cent to SGD76.41million (Lm16.12 million) from SGD63.09million (Lm13.31 million) the previous year.
Portek operates 22 offices globally including in Europe, USA, Asia, Middle East and Africa. Their agents in Malta are T F Shipping Agencies Limited.
A spokesperson for Portek confirmed the company’s interest in the cargo handling contract. Portek is very aware of the Valletta port’s strategic position in the heart of the economic vibrant Mediterranean region and its potential as both a gateway and transhipment port, linked to key shipping routes and central to trade activities in the region. Portek with assistance from TF Shipping is currently conducting due diligence on the commercial viability of the Port of Valletta tender.
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