Dubai-based P&O Ports to operate Serbian port of Novi Sad

The agreement will support the Serbian government’s strategy to create an intermodal terminal and logistics centre

Shipping containers sit stacked at the Yangshan Deepwater Port, operated by Shanghai International Port Group Co. (SIPG), in Shanghai, China, on Friday, May 10, 2019. The U.S. hiked tariffs on more than $200 billion in goods from China on Friday in the most dramatic step yet of President Donald Trump's push to extract trade concessions, deepening a conflict that has roiled financial markets and cast a shadow over the global economy. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
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Dubai government-owned P&O Ports has inked a pact with the Serbian government to operate the port of Novi Sad in Serbia as part of a long-term investment plan to upgrade equipment and services.

This public-private partnership agreement will also support the Serbian government’s strategy to create an intermodal terminal and logistics centre with rail, road and inland waterways links to the rest of Europe.

P&O Ports - a subsidiary of Dubai government’s Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation - will operate Novi Sad port for an initial 25 years with an option for both parties to renew the agreement for another 25 years.

The port is situated on a 24-hectare site alongside the Danube river and the UAE company will retain exclusive rights to undertake all waterside operations, container handling, project cargo, and fertiliser activities. The current quay is 500-metres long and includes cargo handling, warehousing facilities, storage of bulk cargo and general cargo connections to the national railway network.

The construction of a new 189-metre vertical quay wall, new silo capacities, new handling equipment and refurbishment of existing machinery, plus the installation of a terminal operating system will be part of the development plan. New container terminals could also be considered in partnership with the Serbian Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure.