Erdért-Multicont to spend Ft 2 bln to improve ro-ro capacity at Csepel Dockyards

BSzL obtained a 75-year license to operate Csepel Dockyards in May. Erdért-Multicont promised to invest Ft 13 billion at the dockyards over the next ten years as a condition of purchasing BSzL, which owns the license to operate the dockyards. Within two years, Erdért aims to make big improvements to the dockyards' facilities for ro-ro ships, which carry tractor trailers. A single such ship is capable of carrying 70-80 tractor trailers, which means far less impact on the environment than if the vehicles were to travel by road. For this reason, the EU has made developments at ports to accommodate ro-ro ships a priority, and Erdért expects that EU funding will cover a significant part of its planned investment, Erdért CEO Imre Nagy told the paper.
Nagy said Erdért plans to rent out to other logistics companies 50 hectares of unused land at the dockyards, accounting for about a third of its total area.
Erdért won the tender for BSzL with a bid of Ft 5 billion, raising its original offer of Ft 3.2 billion. The tender was the third attempt the State Privatization and Holding (ÁPV) Zrt made to sell the dockyards. BSzL had after-tax profits of Ft 99 million on revenue of Ft 1.279 billion in 2005.