A joint venture made up of Vinci Construction subsidiaries Vinci Construction Grands Projets and EMCC, plus the Belgian dredging company Jan de Nul, has won the $147m contract to extend the port of Kingston, Jamaica, Vinci announced yesterday.
The client is the port’s new operator, CMA CGM, which hopes to capitalise on increased traffic generated by the newly expanded Panama Canal.
CMA CGM won the concession to operate Kingston Containers Terminal in April last year and the concession began on 1 July this year.
The 25-month-long project covers the refurbishment, reinforcement and upgrade to seismic standards of 1,200 metres of quays.
Dredging will also be carried out to enable quays to handle bigger container ships.
CMA CGM views the port expansion as a strategic move for the region because the expanded Panama Canal can now accommodate the world’s largest container ships.
The port of Kingston is at the crossroads between the North/South and East/West sea lanes and will become one of the three main container terminals in the Caribbean, the French group has said.
CMA CGM said funding for the port expansion was provided by institutional lenders the Inter American Development Bank – IIC, Agence Francaise de Développement – Proparco, DEG and FMO, and by private funders CIBC First Caribbean, CIFI, and Cordiant.
Vinci has worked for CMA CGM before. In 2008, Vinci completed its new head office in Marseille, France – a high-rise designed by architect Zaha Hadid.
Vinci Construction Grands Projets has built several sewer and water treatment structures over the past 15 years in Jamaica.
Image: A view of Kingston Containers Terminal (Kingston Freeport Terminal Ltd)
