International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) plans to invest $343 million more in its Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT), Australia’s biggest port, to accommodate larger ships.

The investment is on top of the $481 million which ICTSI already invested in Victoria, Australia since it established VICT, its 100 percent owned subsidiary in the Port of Melbourne, in 2014.

In a proposal to the Port of Melbourne, ICTSI plans to undertake a phased development of the Webb Dock North Container Terminal and integrate its operations with VICT.

The design would deliver higher operating efficiencies at a lower development cost plus significantly reduced environmental impact.

The development would increase VICT’s container capacity to 3.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), allowing for four container berths with the ability to service vessels up to 14,000 TEUs and up to 367 meters in length.

ICTSI is the ideal long-term strategic partner for the Port of Melbourne to ensure it can meet the growing demands of Australia’s busiest container port, stressed ICTSI executive vice president, Christian Gonzalez.

“Victoria’s growing economy presents the Port of Melbourne with the opportunity to consolidate its position as Australia’s number one container port," he pointed out.

“ICTSI is keen to solidify its partnership with the Port of Melbourne to deliver the lowest cost, most efficient and environmentally sustainable solution."

“Our vision for this operation is in lockstep with that of the Port of Melbourne’s own vision as it examines strategies to expand capacity and facilitate the growth of Victorian economy,” says Gonzalez.

ICTSI has engaged multiple global firms to assess the merits of its proposal in comparison to current expansion designs for the Port of Melbourne.

Jacobs Engineering undertook a detailed technical assessment, including estimates of construction costs, while Boston Consulting Group focused on market and economic assessments.

The external reports concluded that ICTSI’s proposal could deliver cost savings of more than $165 million and spread the timing of spend over a longer time period while introducing significant capacity into the market sooner.

ICTSI has conducted preliminary discussions with the Port of Melbourne and its owners, as well as with the Victorian Government and other key industry stakeholders.

ICTSI made it clear that it is ready and confident to test its proposal in any competitive process that the Port of Melbourne requires under its plans for the future of Webb Dock, according to Gonzalez.

“We believe we can partner with the Port of Melbourne to deliver the superior proposal for Webb Dock and in turn, lock in further economic prosperity for Victoria."

“We look forward to sharing further independent analysis of our proposal alongside all details with the Port of Melbourne and other key stakeholders in due course.”