|
On Thursday, March 30,
Dominique
Perben, France’s Transport Minister, officially
opened Port 2000, the new expansion of the Port of Le Havre.
A delegation from CMA CGM, headed by
Jacques R.
Saadé attended the event.
The inauguration took place at the Terminal de France. Here,
two new berths, run by CMA CGM and P&O Ports in a
partnership through Générale de Manutention Portuaire (GMP),
are now in operation.
The CMA
CGM Tosca, an 8,500 TEU vessel, and symbol of this
event, berthed during
Mr.
Dominique Perben’s inaugural speech.
Mr.
Jacques R. Saadé then accompanied the Transport
Minister and a delegation of officials on board the vessel
for a special tour of the containership, which was decorated
with special insignia and huge French flags.
Ideally located at the gateway to Europe, the Port of Le
Havre is truly a hub that links northern Europe to Africa as
well as Asia and the United States. The opening of the
Terminal de France takes place at a time when terminals in
the Americas and Europe, where 19 of the Group’s services
currently call, have reached full capacity.
“Port 2000 will help Le Havre take its strategic place among
other major European ports. The objective of this large
scale port is to provide customers with competitive
productivity and capacity all year long. We are delighted to
be a part of this extraordinary project,” declares
Farid T.
Salem, Group Chief Executive Vice-President. |
