Germany's first very-deep-water port is likely to open to shipping in October 2011, one year later than set out in existing planning, the operating company said Monday. ( dpa )
The Jade Weser Port is being constructed on an empty site just outside the city of Wilhelmshaven. At any one time, the dock will be able to handle four huge container vessels with draughts of 16 metres.
It is to be built alongside a deep North Sea inlet, the Jadebusen, which is scoured by the tides.
Eurogate, the company that will operate the quay, said it expected NCC, a Russian stevedoring company, to have a stake in the venture. The two companies are jointly building a Baltic Sea dock too.
A Eurogate spokesman in Bremen said the first 1,000 metres of the quay was likely to be ready for ships in 2011 with the full 1,700 metres to be finished later under a timetable agreed with the Jade Weser Port development company.
He blamed the delay on litigation over the construction contract and unsuccessful lawsuits by environmentalists.
The 480-million-euro (750-million-dollar) project would rival Germany's current main port Hamburg, and even take away business from Europe's biggest port, Rotterdam. Hamburg is debating plans to increase its clear water depth to 14.5 metres in response.