APM Terminals, part of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, has won a 25-year contract to operate Bahrain’s main port, Mina Salman, and the Khalifa bin Salman Port in Hidd, which is under construction.

APM Terminals outbid Hong Kong-based Hutchison Port Holdings in the final round. It will operate the concession in partnership with Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo (Holdings) of Bahrain.
Kim Fejfer, CEO of APM Terminals, said: “The tender process was handled very professionally and transparently by the (Bahraini Ministry of Finance and National Economy), and we look forward to concluding the concession agreement so we can start our new operations in the Kingdom of Bahrain.”
Morten J Lund, an official of APM Terminals said: “The way the arrangement is structured is that the concessionaire will initially operate Mina Salman. Operations will then be transferred to the new Khalifa bin Salman Port when it is completed.”
APM operates more than 30 terminals worldwide with a total throughput of 20.6 million teu in 2004. Its core business is the operation and management of container terminals.  Bahrain will be among two countries in the Gulf where it will be operating. The company currently manages Salalah Port in Oman. It operates 15 ports in North America, one in South America, six in Europe, two in Africa and eight in Asia.
Work on the BD200 million ($530.8 million) Khalifa bin Salman Port is expected to be completed in 2006. The main port work was awarded to a consortium comprising Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, Nass Contracting and Nass-Murray & Roberts Joint Venture, each responsible for carrying out the dredging work, rock and revetments and construction of the quay wall respectively. The BD80 million reclamation, dredging and harbour wall construction work was completed four months earlier than scheduled in August 2004.
 The Hidd port project followed years of research and was taken up due to increased economic activity, a big increase in foreign trade and a rise in shipping traffic through Bahrain.
The new port, with an 18-m-deep berth will have the capacity to accommodate the biggest container vessels in the world.
It will house two 300 m container berths, which will be served by the latest gantry cranes, with a vessel capacity able to handle in excess of 6,000 teu per year. The port will also boast two 40-tonne and two 50-tonne post panamax gantry cranes and 14 straddle carriers, in addition to forklifts, tug master units, low bed trailers and a computerised container and cargo tracking system.
The existing Port Salman is strategically located midway down the Arabian Gulf, providing key access to the region for the global shipping industry. It provides a range of facilities for vessels of up to 65,000 tonnes, which include an outer approach channel with a minimum depth of 9.5 meters.
Mina Salman’s Container Terminal is furthest from the port entrance and protected by its own perimeter fence. The terminal’s two berths (15 and 16) are served by two Mitsui 30.5-tonne-capacity and two Reggiane 35/40-tonne-capacity gantry cranes, all four with a 38 m outreach. Behind them is the 9,000 teu container storage area.
Three 300 m general cargo berths  (11, 12 and 14) are adjacent to the container terminal. There are open-sided sheds, one of which at Berth 14 is allocated for the loading of aluminium billets into containers.
Reefer cargoes and livestock are generally discharged at berths 11 and 12. Mina Salman has substantial storage facilities.