Shell, BP, Maersk, Stena and the Japanese shipping companies NYK, MOL and "K" Line have announced their joint collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to support job creation and capacity building projects in Somalia.
DB Schenker Logistics says it has started building a 23.5m euro ($32m) logistics centre in Rudna u Prahy, close to the Czech capital of Prague. The 90,800-square-metre terminal has been designed to meet the most advanced technological, safety and environmental requirements, the company says.
London Gateway, the new container port under construction on the banks of the River Thames, got a huge vote of confidence recently from an important source. The DP World funded operation is already in talks with several leading shipping lines, but the scheme is two-tiered and the plans eventually are to couple the dockside activities directly with a giant logistics park situated immediately behind the wharves.
The GCC countries are allocating $36bn to further develop their port infrastructure amid increasing foreign non-oil trade volumes. Saudi Arabia is powering ahead with port infrastructure development with more than $750m allocated to Dammam's King Abdul Aziz Port, which includes the launch of a second high-tech container terminal in 2015 with capacity for 1.8 million TEUs per annum.
UPS has launched of UPS Access Point, a network of convenience stores, petrol stations and newsagents which consumers purchasing goods on the web can choose for delivery and returns. It is starting with a network of 600 sites with 1,500 set to be in place in the United Kingdom by June 2013.
The government is to spend $180mn on construction of the new Kampala Port at Bukasa in Wakiso District. Cypriano Okello, the deputy project coordinator, said the government would acquire 500 hectares of land for the port in May.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., China's largest e-commerce company, plans to join with partners to build a logistics network across China that can support 10tr Yuan ($1.6tr) worth of transactions a year within the next decade.
