Brussels, 11/12/2008 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission decided, Wednesday 10 December, not to raise any objections to Germany's plan to support the construction of a new port in Wilhelmshaven. The Länder of Bremen and Lower Saxony will finance - through publicly-owned entities JIB and JWPR - the basic infrastructure (maritime access and connections to land transport networks) and the infrastructure necessary for the construction of a new maritime container terminal in Wilhelmshaven on the mouth of the Jade River. The container terminal will be financed, constructed, operated and maintained by a selected terminal operator. The Commission concludes that the public financing of the construction of the basic infrastructure and the terminal-related infrastructure is compatible with the common market (Article 87(3)(c) of the EC Treaty). State intervention in the present case is indeed completely in line with the objectives to develop European ports in the framework of the European Transport Policy. Furthermore, the Commission considers that the 40-year concession agreement for the construction and operation of the terminal does not incorporate any State aid elements because it has been awarded on the basis of a Europe-wide open, transparent and non-discriminatory public tender. At the level of port users, the Commission believes that the notified measures do not lead to any State aid to port users as long as the access to the infrastructure is made on equal and non-discriminatory terms. (O.L./transl.rt)