Port of Beirut terminal expanded

Project will raise capacity to 2.1 million TEUs

The first phase of the container terminal expansion at Port of Beirut has been finalized.

The terminal expansion project was launched in 2009 and was undertaken by Pihl-Hourie, a Danish-Lebanese joint venture. The cost of both of the first and second phases will reach an estimated $130 million.

The first-phase expansion involved the extension of the container berth from 600 m to 1,100 m and increasing the quay’s depth to 5.16 m, allowing larger vessels to dock in the Port. The area of internal yards grew from 400,000 to 600,000 square meters.

The quay’s container capacity also grew from 1.1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to 1.5 million TEUs per year. The expansion also included doubling the number of giant cranes to 12 and raising the number of smaller cranes from 18 to 39.

Upon completion of the second and final phase of the Port’s expansion, the container terminal will be able to process up to 2.1 million TEUs per year.

Imports and exports to the Port of Beirut were valued at $11.56 billion and $1.38 billion respectively during the first nine months of 2013.