Hanjin picks Jacksonville for first U.S. East Coast terminal hub
South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping has selected the Port of Jacksonville in Northeast Florida as the site for its first dedicated terminal operation on the U.S. East Coast at a cost of $360 million.
Hanjin and the Jacksonville Port Authority (Jaxport) today signed a memorandum of understanding in Seoul for a 170-acre project called Hanjin Shipping Jacksonville Container Terminal that is expected to begin operations in 2011 with two berths and an annual capacity of 1 million TEUs.
J.W. Park, Hanjin’s president and chief executive officer, said the rationale behind the project is to take advantage of the expansion of the Panama Canal and the expected increase in traffic to the U.S. East Coast that will bring.
“Hanjin Shipping Jacksonville Container Terminal will ensure constant availability of berths, upgrade our customer service with reduced costs and improved schedules,” Park said. “Moreover, the terminal itself will start making profits by attracting cargo from other carriers; it will establish itself as a logistics hub for the newly emerging market in the Caribbean Sea area.'
A site has yet to be fixed for Hanjin’s terminal, which will become Jacksonville's fifth marine terminal. Another Asian box carrier, Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K Line, is developing a container complex on 158 acres at the port's Dames Point terminal. The $220 million TraPac Container Terminal is scheduled to be operational in early 2009 bringing 800,000 TEUs of transpacific cargo each year.
The port said Hanjin’s terminal will bring at least $1 billion in economic activity in Northeast Florida and create thousands of new jobs for the region.
“Today's agreement with Hanjin underscores Jacksonville's new role in global trade,” said Rick Ferrin, the port authority's executive director. “With this historic signing, not one, but two major players in the international shipping arena have given notice in a big way that Jaxport is the place to be.”
Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton, said: “Jacksonville is well on its way to becoming one of the largest and most successful port cities on the East Coast and the premier logistics and transportation hub in the southeastern United States. I warmly welcome Hanjin Shipping to our great city and am hopeful an agreement to move forward can be reached quickly.”
Hanjin operates 11 dedicated terminals worldwide including seven outside of Korea. In the United STates, Hanjin's subsidiary, Total Terminal International operates dedicated West Coast terminals in Long Beach, Oakland and Seattle.
Hanjin recently signed MOUs for a dedicated terminal in Rotterdam in the Netherlands as well as establishing a joint-venture for terminal development in Tan Cang-Cai Mep, Vietnam. The company is also planning expansions for their terminals in China and the Mediterranean.