Following the Board of Directors approval of the terms, the Port of Ashdod has entered an agreement to purchase 5 new advanced STS cranes for a total cost of ILS 240M.
The ZPMC cranes will be used in the semi-automated container terminal on Pier 21 East, which is currently being retrofitted to accommodate 24,000 TEU mega-ships by deepening the channel and reinforcing the pier.
The Ashdod Port Company is happy to announce that after extensive negotiations it has reached an agreement with ZPMC to buy 5 STS cranes, by executing an option in the existing contract that was signed in 2017. The five new cranes will join the first ZPMC crane in the port that was recently inaugurated in a ceremony attended by the Minister of Transportation and Road Safety. The cost of the new cranes is ILS 240M.
The new cranes are designed to unload container ships of up to 24,000 TEU and are capable of lifting two 40-foot-long containers at once using an advanced tandem system.
The new cranes have a unique remote-control feature, allowing remote operation in real-time from a control room using a system of cameras on the crane. These new systems make the cranes safer and more productive.
The cranes are scheduled for delivery on January 2022, and in preparation for their arrival the west section of general cargo Pier 21 will be retrofitted to accommodate 24,000 TEU container ships by deepening the channel and reinforcing the pier. The contract with ZPMC was finalized a few days ago after the terms of the deal were approved by the company’s Board of Directors. The cranes are expected to become operational in the first half of 2022.
The Ashdod Port Board of Directors has already approved an ILS 2.4B CapEx budget for port development over the next couple of years. Of this budget, more than one billion ILS is allocated to Pier 21. In addition to procuring the new cranes, budget was allocated to the retrofit works estimated at ILS 600M, and for building a semi-automated terminal at the backyard of Pier 21.
The pier will accommodate 24,000 TEU mega-ships – the biggest container ships in the world – and will have a new semi-automated logistics backyard.
Shiko Zana, Ashdod Port CEO says: “The Ashdod Port, the main port of Israel, continues to promote innovative technologies in all aspects of its operations to improve quality of service and become the most advanced port in the world. Ashod Port was the first in Israel to introduce a ZPMC crane. We have accomplished a lot in 2020, and confident the addition of five taller and more efficient cranes will further improve productivity and enhance our ongoing commitment to the quality of service our loyal customers rely on”.
