Dubai Ports to operate in Constanta

Dubai Ports International has won the tender for operating a new container terminal in the Constanta Harbour. The operations are scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2004, according to menareport.com. The final stage of contest saw DPI competing with Contship (Italy), Dragados (Spain) or HiliPort (Malta). The bids opened on October 15 ranged from $81 million to more than $88 million, i.e. the rent for the 2004-2021 period, Mediafax reports. The contract will be signed by the end of December. The contract in Constanta is the first such deal in Europe for Dubai Ports Authority. The operator of the terminal will make approximately $170 million profit in 18 years, that is about $10 million a year, according to a survey conducted by Japanese specialists. The container terminal is an investment financed 75% by a loan granted by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), with the remaining funding supplied by the Government. ZF