APL's global gateway south container shipping terminal at Los Angeles port is scheduled to open on Monday. The terminal is expected to handle 800,000 teu (20-ft equivalent units) this year and rising to 1.44 million teu in 1999. 'The terminal will accommodate southern California's rapidly growing international trade sector and connect it to points throughout Asia and the Middle East,' a spokesman said. The biggest container complex in North America features the world's most advanced on-dock intermodal rail facility linked to the 32-kilometre Alamada Corridor railway. The terminal comprises four berths totalling 1,216 metres in length and is backed by 12 Noell gantry cranes capable of handling post-Panamax container vessels. A US$1.8 billion road and rail improvement programme is now under development linking the Los Angeles port to all major rail routes and facilities to and from the Los Angeles region. The corridor is designed to handle up to 100 trains daily and ease traffic delays on local roads and resultant air emissions by 90 per cent. The terminal also has a 55,000-square-foot facility capable of handling all terminal and equipment repairs and maintenance. Its gatehouse has 10 inbound and 10 outbound lanes.
