Enrique K. Razor Jr., chairman and president of ICTSI.
Manila-based International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI)—controlled by billionaire Enrique Razon Jr.—is accelerating its global expansion, with the upgrading of the Baltic Container Terminal in Poland, the second project announced by the port giant this month.
Having signed a new 30-year lease agreement with the Port Authority of Gdynia earlier this week, ICTSI said it will upgrade the Polish port’s infrastructure to handle mega ships of up to 400 meters, with construction works starting in the middle of next year. The project—which includes expanding the quay and installation of new cargo handling equipment—will boost the terminal’s annual capacity by 20% to 1.2 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers when completed by 2025, the company said.
ICTSI has invested over $100 million to build up the port facilities at Gdynia, a key maritime hub that facilitates transhipment of cargoes including advanced military equipment to and from Northern Europe. The company plans to spend about the same amount in the next few years to further modernize the terminal.
“We look forward to playing our part in the next growth phase foreseen for the port and to rolling out new investments in a sustainable way that will meet the latest client requirements, build the terminal’s strategic attributes and maximize positive economic impact across the board,” Hans-Ole Madsen, ICTSI senior vice president, regional head for Europe, Middle East and Africa, said in a statement.
ICTSI announced the Polish project a week after the port giant unveiled plans to invest more than $230 million in the next few years to expand the capacity of its terminal at the Port of Manzanillo in Mexico by over 40%.
The company has been expanding its cargo handling capacity around the world as global trade recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Its flagship port in Manila is undertaking a 15 billion peso ($269 million) expansion. In July, the company bought a controlling stake in an Indonesian port, broadening its footprint in Southeast Asia’s most populous country, where it operates two other facilities.
Besides ICTSI, Razon is also the controlling shareholder of Philippine-listed Bloomberry Resorts—operator of the Solaire Resort and Casino in Manila—as well as privately held Prime Infrastructure Capital, which has been building its portfolio of water utilities, gas and renewable energy assets. Razon has a net worth of $6.3 billion, according to Forbes’ real-time data.