Port of Virginia Signs $217 Million Deal to Acquire Automated Cranes
The Commonwealth of Virginia signed a deal with Konecranes to provide the Port of Virginia with 86 automated stacking cranes as part of a large-scale expansion at the Virginia International Gateway and Norfolk International Terminal over the next five years.
The $217 million agreement is one of the largest one-time orders for automated stacking cranes, which are responsible for taking containers on and off trucks and maintaining the container stacks with minimal human intervention.
“We secured the financing for these projects this summer, the planning and preliminary site work has started, and now we have an agreement in place with one of the world’s leading manufacturers of specialized cranes to supply the hardware to move containers safely and efficiently across our two primary container terminals,” Gov. Terry McAuliffe said.
Within five years, the port hopes to double the capacity of the two terminals to about 2.6 million containers and move up to 40% of the volume through double-stack Norfolk Southern and CSX trains on the grounds, port officials said. The additional space, along with previous dredging work, could make Hampton Roads attractive to the larger Neopanamax vessels that traditionally stop at New York-New Jersey and Savannah, Georgia.
The Virginia Port Authority Board of Commissioners ratified the deal with Konecranes on Nov. 15, which calls for delivery to begin in 2018 and continue until 2020. Of the 86 automated stacking, 60 will go to Norfolk International Terminal and 26 will be headed to Virginia International Gateway. The NIT facility uses manual stacking cranes operated by longshoremen. VIG has had automated cranes for about a decade with an operator assisting using a monitor in an office. until 2020.
McAuliffe said that Konecranes will partner with Roanoke, Virginia-based TMEIC, which will provide the automation technology that drives the unit.
“This project will create jobs and economic spin-off,” McAuliffe said. “It will be good for TMEIC and it will be good for Virginia.”
The engineering and manufacturing of key components will be done in Finland, where Konecranes is headquartered, but the steel structures will be fabricated elsewhere in Europe, according to port officials. The components and structures will be loaded onto vessels bound for Virginia, where Konecranes will open a regional site to assemble the cranes.
“Konecranes will be using some of its workforce for the project but will also be hiring, leasing space, possibly partnering with some local contractors or suppliers and it will need hauling firms to move the pieces between the terminals and staging areas,” Virginia Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne said.
The combined cost of the projects at the two terminals is $670 million.
