DHL Global Forwarding has agreed an initial three-year Global Freight Forwarding agreement with Ambatovy in Madagascar.
Ambatovy is a joint venture between Sherritt International Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation and Korea Resources Corporation and a large-tonnage, long-life nickel and cobalt mining enterprise.
At full capacity it will produce 60,000 tonnes of refined nickel, 5,600 tonnes of refined cobalt and 210,000 tonnes of ammonium sulphate fertilizer annually.
The agreement was secured and will be managed by DHL’s Industrial Projects team which handles very large break-bulk and complex project logistics.
DHL will provide on-shore and off-shore services. For the on-shore contract, it is responsible for providing import customs clearance for airfreight shipments of mining spare parts into Madagascar, with delivery to the Ambatovy mine site from Antananarivo to Moramanga and to the plant at Toamasina through daily shuttle services.
For off-shore services, DHL will provide international air and ocean freight for importation of mining equipment to support Ambatovy’s nickel, cobalt and ammonium sulphate production, consolidated at key DHL hubs in the US (Houston), Canada (Montreal), Europe (Antwerpen), Africa (Johannesburg) and China (Shanghai).
DHL Global Forwarding chief executive officer of industrial projects, Nikola Hagleitner says: “This agreement is especially meaningful as it enables DHL to help Ambatovy manage its supply chain in order to sustain its operations in Madagascar.
“Our partnership will enable Ambatovy to tap into our global expertise in project forwarding, and extensive network spanning over 220 countries and territories – enabling us to operate efficiently even in challenging and remote locations, and more importantly, facilitate global trade flows and the development of infrastructure globally.”
Ambatovy director of supply chain management, Steven Cox adds: “We are delighted to partner DHL for our freight forwarding needs. It is critical we have direct access to our global suppliers in order to keep the operations up and running. With their track record in these areas, we are convinced they are the right partner to drive improvements in our supply chain and business.”
