Portia’s CEO John Owens was in attendance when Portia’s partner Beirut Container Terminal Consortium (BCTC) hosted a reception in the Port of Beirut celebrating the continued success of BCTC. In attendance were the Lebanese Minister of Public Works and Transport Youssef Finianos, the British Ambassador Hugo Shorter, Chairman to the Board of Directors at the Port of Beirut Authority Hassan Kraytem, General Manager of the Ministry of Transport Abdul Hafiz Al Kaisi and Deputy Chairman of BCTC, Ammar Kanaan along with a delegation from the British Lebanese Business Group (BLBG).
Thetheme of the reception was to highlight the progress the BCTC Terminal has made over the past 12 years, its positive impact on the Lebanese economy and the creation of new job opportunities,the cooperation between Lebanese and UK companies and between business and the public and private sectors.
Hassan Kraytem said of Portia: “Before this Company was not deployed, I had to travel to the Port of Liverpool, England and make sure it would work”. He spoke of how the Terminal has become one of the important Terminals on the Mediterranean Sea and is also a major transit terminal in the region.
President of the event Graham Ball thanked everyone for this meeting, which reflects the cooperation between the Lebanese and the British, which has achieved great success in the Eastern Mediterranean region. He expressed his admiration for the work of the terminal and its economic role not only in Lebanon but also in the region.
Finianos expressedhow “BCTC is a shining example of a successful partnership between the public and private sectors on the one hand and between Lebanon and the United Kingdom on the other.
Today, Lebanon exports these human resources all around the world, and this is a great pride for all of us”.
Finianos alsoofficially launched an initiative to establish a Training Academy aimed at developing professionals to work in Container Terminals, with the mission and goal to become the premier Training Academy in the region in the next five years.
Ambassador Shorter said that the trade history between Lebanon and U.K. has existed since the Phoenicians. Today, we have expanded this and become in partners between Lebanon and Britain in maritime transport.
He further elaborated that the Embassy team is working to attract more British companies to invest in the Lebanese oil and sewage sectors. He pointed out that cooperation in the container terminal between the British and the Lebanese company and between the public and private sectors has achieved significant success.
Ammar Kanaan welcomed the delegation on behalf of BCTC and Terminal Manager, Sarah Haidar and Finance Director, Karen Bellamy then explained the work and mission of the company.
Finally, following the speeches and the presentations, the delegation were given a tour of the BCTC Terminal including the Planning Department, Field Operations Department whose technical staffs were on hand to explain technical details of how the terminal operates.
