Terminal Investment Limited (TiL), a subsidiary of MSC, has taken full ownership of two of the three container terminals at the port of Le Havre in France.

TiL has acquired the shareholding of the Ocean Terminal and Terminal de Normandie with an investment of €700m (US$713 million), which will strengthen the port's role as a gateway to North-western Europe.

The said investment is expected to make the port more efficient in processing the world's biggest cargo ships, including the new generation of 24,000 TEU vessels.

TiL is MSC's terminal business and its main shareholders are the US Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and Singapore Government Sovereign Wealth Fund (GIC).

"By implementing this initiative we will be able to grow and densify our capacity to help Le Havre become an even more significant access point for the French cargo market, and beyond. In order to realise Le Havre's full potential as a gateway to Europe, we are counting on the French government’s support for the development of the related intermodal rail infrastructure that will further enhance the link between our container terminals and European supply chains," said Ammar Kanaan, CEO TiL.

Kanaan noted that as a cargo port, Le Havre is already in an ideal position geographically to provide import and export facilities for continental Europe.

"We consider that the development of new rail and waterway links will make it even more attractive, driving up the volume of cargo we expect to handle in the coming decades," the TiL chief added.

TiL is installing gantry cranes, doubling the number at the terminal to 20. It will also be tripling the terminal's storage capacity with the installation of fleet gantries at six berths.

The conversion project will be completed by 2028.

The new gantries will be electrically powered and the port will provide shore power for ships. This project, led by HAROPA Port du Havre, will mean ships will not need to use their engines while docked.

The announcement noted that this investment is in line with the MSC Group's goal of proposing efficient, multimodal services connected to maritime services.

"MSC's market offer now includes river and rail services in order to expand its geographical port customer base and promote an effective alternative to road transport in the present context," it added.