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MALAYSIAN NEWS UPDATE

CH Robinson starts new rail service connecting China and Europe in flexibility. It is for freight that requires faster transit times than ocean, at twice the speed, with substantial savings over air," said Mike Short, president, Global Forwarding at CH Robinson. The company offers empty container pick up, collection at factories, customs declaration at origin, customs clearance and further pan-European distribution by intermodal and truck services at destination areas. Full block train, single or multiple containers, LCL shipments and oversized cargo are available options.

MEDITERRANEAN Shipping Company (MSC) has signed a 30-year concession agreement with Abu Dhabi Ports (ADP) to develop a new container terminal in Khalifa port. "We are confident that with this investment we will continue to ensure a high level of service for our customers and have the capacity to grow the scale of our operations in the UAE," said MSC president Diego Aponte. Under the terms of the agreement MSC will invest AED4 billion (US$1.1 billion) over the lifetime of the concession agreement, Dubai's Maritime Standard reported. It is believed that the terminal will be MAJOR third-party logistics providers (3PL) CH Robinson has announced the launch of a new trans-Eurasian rail freight service that connects nine origin terminals in China with eight destination cities in Europe. Each freight train requires 18-20 days to complete the tour between terminals in Zhengzhou, Suzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, Wuhan, Yiwu, Xiamen, Shenzhen and Guangzhou in China, with the cities of Melaszewicze, Hamburg, Duisburg, Milan, Tilburg, Lyon and Paris in Europe, and Barking in the UK. "The new rail line complements our air and ocean offerings, giving customers the ultimate

He explained that the new service is a convenient direct link to and from China's booming economic cities to multiple countries and destinations in Europe. "CH Robinson's strategic development of gateways in China gives customers more choice, along with exceptional service and competitive pricing." With the new routes, customers also have more sustainable service and wider coverage.

Said CH Robinson vice president John Chen: "With trans-Eurasian rail service adding to our current ocean and air offerings, our customers could have more route choices and wider coverage from China to Europe. One Belt One Road is a top initiative for China. We are glad to support this with our customers."

MSC invests US$1.1b in new container terminal in Khalifa port equipped with 13 new quayside gantry cranes and MSC will contribute to port dredging costs to enable the port to handle large bulk carriers and containerships. developing a container terminal of its own at Khalifa port.

ADP chief executive Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi said: "We have successfully attracted two of the world largest companies in the field of shipping and container handling to develop a regional hub at Khalifa port. Over the next five years, the capacity of the two container terminals at Khalifa port will increase to more than 8.5 million TEU annually." An ADP statement indicates that MSC plans to gradually shift some of its container handling in the region to Khalifa port as soon as July this year.

The investments planned are set to increase Khalifa port's capacity to 5.3 million TEU a year by 2020, making it one of the top 25 ports worldwide. The Khalifa port container terminal project will be handled by MSC's specialist subsidiary, Terminal Investments Limited (TIL). The deal with MSC follows on from an earlier agreement with Cosco Container Shipping Ports, which is in the process of