Gulftainer starts
Tripoli-Beirut shuttles

Exporters to benefit
from faster port service

Gulftainer, the company that operates the Port of Tripoli (POT) through a BOT (build-operate-transfer) contract, has begun launching shuttles to and from the Port of Beirut (POB).

The move has been taken to encourage exporters to relocate their activity to POT. Antoine Amatoury, Chairman of the company, said: “Large-scale merchants need six to seven months to adapt to using POT. So, we started this shuttle activity to encourage them to use this port.” Two trips have so far been made in both directions.

Shuttle trips are expected to reduce the time needed for a shipment to leave Lebanese ports, especially in light of major traffic at POB. All Customs procedures will be undertaken at the Tripoli port.

The average time a trip takes between the two ports is five hours. “We are ready to operate up to four trips a day,” he said.

The Higher Council of Customs also hired five inspectors to work at the POT as of this month, as opposed to one inspector. This will help reduce congestion resulting from the shuttle trips.

Gulftainer is also looking into future expansions at the port. It has launched studies to develop an additional 300 meter-long quay. “We will examine how the newly completed quay does and move on with other expansions,” he said.

The new quay has a capacity to process 800,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year.