VTTI announces construction of oil terminal in Cyprus

Construction works for a private oil terminal will begin January and be concluded in one year.

According to a press release, VTTI, the 50/50 joint venture between major energy trader Vitol and world-leading maritime corporation MISC Berhad, confirmed Tuesday that it will begin construction work on its major new oil import and distribution terminal at Vassiliko, in the coastal town of Limassol, on Monday 17th January 2011.

The announcement says that the terminal, which will be constructed by Joannou and Paraskevaides (JP), is an important project for Cyprus and marks an initial investment of more than 100 million euro.

Around 1000 people will be required to build the terminal and, upon completion, 50 people will be needed to operate and support it.

Initial terminal capacity will be 340,000 cubic metres of storage for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, which will increase to 550,000 cubic meters in phase 2 of the project, ultimately totaling an investment in Cyprus of more than 200 million euro.

CEO of VTTI, Rob Nijst, said that the Vassiliko facility ''will be built to world class standards, with the highest safety and environmental standards in place.”

''Establishing Cyprus as a major regional trading hub for the import and export of oil products, we are also confident that the expanded facility – after phase 2 – will provide more than sufficient capacity to cover the needs of Cyprus and bring competitive supplies of energy to its customers”, he went on to add.

According to the press release, VTTI has extensive experience of building and managing oil terminals, with a network of 11 terminals on five continents, including a new terminal in Florida, USA. In Europe, VTTI has major terminals in Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Antwerp and Ventspils, Latvia.

VTTI’s Vassiliko facility ''will be a world class terminal, both in its construction and operation, where employees will receive the highest quality training that is standard at all VTTI terminals worldwide'', the press release concludes.