Chinese carrier COSCO has given up its shares in the construction of the new Duisburg Gateway Terminal (DGT) in Germany.

COSCO’s share in the terminal amounted to 30 per cent, which have now been sold to Duisburg port operator, duisport.

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The Duisburg port company took over the shares in June, but both sides have agreed not to disclose the reasons for the Chinese exit, as reported by German broadcaster WDR.

The project for the DGT was launched in 2019 for a total investment of €100 million ($100.4 million).

duisport and COSCO would have held 30 per cent of shares, and Dutch inland shipping group HTS and Hupac 20 per cent each.

The new terminal will be built on the Coal Island of the German port over an area of 220,000 square meters with 6 cranes, 12 rail freight platforms, 5 loading zones, 3 berths for barges and an area of ​​60,000 square metres for container storage.

Initial predictions estimated that DGT was supposed to handle 850,000 TEU per year welcoming over 100 weekly trains coming from the New Silk Road.

The news comes shortly after the German government has approved the acquisition of a minority stake of less than 25 per cent in HHLA’s Container Terminal Tollerort GmbH (CTT) by COSCO.

The sale had been debated for months, as Germany’s Economy Minister, Robert Habeck, disclosed that he was inclined not to allow the deal, arguing the deal would give China a stake in critical German infrastructure.