COSCO has sold its shares in the Duisburg Gateway Terminal (DGT) to the Duisport, the operator of the port of Duisburg. COSCO’s share in the terminal amounted to 30 per cent. As of now, the two sides did not disclose the reasons behind COSCO’s exit. The port of Duisburg plays an important role in Chinese trade in Europe, with over 30 daily trains coming from the New Silk Road.

The transaction happened in June but it was kept secret until now, as Duisport was quoted saying to WDR, a German public broadcaster. Initial predictions estimated that the DGT was supposed to handle 850,000 TEUs per year by, among other connections, welcoming over 100 weekly trains coming from the New Silk Road. It now remains to be seen whether COSCO’s exit from the terminal will have any effect on this specific trade route.

The news comes just days after COSCO was granted a smaller percentage of shares in the Container Terminal Tollerort. The initial deal, in fact, saw COSCO acquiring 35 per cent of the CTT shares, but the German government settled for 25 per cent. This is because German officials were worried about China finding their way into owning the port of Hamburg in the near future.

The Duisburg Gateway Terminal

The project for the DGT was launched in 2019 for a total investment of 100 million euros. The money was supposed to be financed by Duisport and Cosco, with 30 per cent each, and by Dutch inland shipping group HTS and Hupac, with 20 per cent each.

The terminal will be built on the Coal Island of the German port over an area of 220,000 square metres. There will be six cranes, twelve rail freight platforms of 730 metres each, five loading zones, three berths for barges and an area of ​​60,000 square metres for container storage.

Also read:

• COSCO will enter Hamburg, but only as a minority shareholder
• COSCO will not own the port of Hamburg, HHLA guarantees
• COSCO at Tollerort: Hamburg says yes, German government says no