Research and Markets: Bulgaria Shipping Report Q4 2010

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/afedbf/bulgaria_shipping) has announced the addition of the "Bulgaria Shipping Report Q4 2010" report to their offering.

Bulgaria Shipping Report provides industry professionals and strategists, corporate analysts, shipping associations, government departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Bulgaria's shipping industry.

The construction of a new container terminal at the country's main port of Varna is being reconsidered. The planned terminal, which is being funded by a Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) loan, is under threat, because of the considerable decline in throughput volumes at Bulgaria's ports over the past 12 months. The new container terminal at the port is due to be built with a US$226mn loan from the JBIC, which was granted in 2008. The terminal was due to be completed in 2014, with the loan eligible for repayment from 2015 at a 1.4% interest rate. However, the Bulgarian government is reconsidering the loan, and by extension the project, looking at either downsizing the loan, or cancelling it altogether, according to Novinite.

The new container terminal is also being reconsidered in the light of a new cargo terminal, Terminal 2A, which was built at the port of Burgas. Completed in 2009, the terminal remains unused, as the steel mill it was built to serve (bringing raw materials to the plant), Kremikovtzi, went bankrupt and is likely to be liquidated. This project was also built with a JBIC loan, for US$188mn. We expect cargo handled at Bulgaria's key port, the Port of Varna (POV), to grow at a slow rate this year. In general tonnage terms, POV will experience 1.1% growth to 6.8mn tonnes, following a pretty poor 2009 performance when the port was not able to sidestep the effects of the international recession (volumes fell by 12.9% to 6.73mn tonnes last year).

Container throughput at the Port of Varna will grow 1.5% to 114,330 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) this year. POV's growth has been consistently positive in 2001-2008, but, being closely linked to international shipping fluctuations, box throughput at the port slumped by a sharp 27.5% last year. Affected by the global recession, Bulgaria's total trade plummeted by 17.05% in real terms in 2009, and we see a slow 2.54% rebound in 2010, followed by 2.5% growth in 2011. This year imports will grow more strongly than exports in real terms (3.0% vs 2.0%).

Key Topics Covered:

Executive Summary

SWOT Analysis

Global Industry Overview

Industry Trends and Developments

Market Overview

Industry Forecast

Company Profile

Companies Mentioned:

AP MLLER-MAERSK
Mediterranean Shipping Company
CMA CGM
Neptune Orient Lines
Hapag-Lloyd
Evergreen Line
China Ocean Shipping Company
CSAV Shipping
China Shipping
Hanjin Shipping
Mitsui OSK Lines
Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/afedbf/bulgaria_shipping

Contacts

Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager,
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907
Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

Source: Research and Markets