Latinports Newsletter September-December 2012

September-December 2012
Year 4, No. 3
Annual Seminar of Latinports
in Chile Convened Ports of the
Continent
Brazil: Controversy for Crucial
Package of Measures for the Port
Sector
Chairman of the Executive
Committee of Latinports at
Harvard Club New York
See more... See more... See more...
MSC Inés, the Largest ShipArriving
to LatinAmerica

CONTENTS
September
December
2012
News Of LatinAmerican Ports
Mail
ANNUAL SEMINAR OF LATINPORTS
The IIIAnnual Seminar of Latinports Convened
Ports of the Continent in Viña del Mar, Chile
Declaration of Valparaiso
Editorial
Cover
z, 9,100 TEU Capacity and
14 Feet Draft, the Largest
Vessel that has come to
Latin America (Oct 2012)
Design
Julian Pineda
www.miroamarillo.com
studio@miroamarillo.com
New Members
- Empresa Portuaria Valparaiso
Distinctions
- Liebherr and Incatep
- The Chairman of the Executive Committee of
Latinports at the Harvard Club New York: Brazil
Infrastructure Investment Forum
- Interview of Mundo Marítimo to the Executive
Director of theAssociation: Latinports
Reconfirmed its Commitment to Combine
Public and Private Efforts
CHAIRMANAND EXECUTIVE DIRECTION
- The New Mexican Government
Intends to Convert Lázaro Cárdenas in
the Hub for theAmericas.
- Panama: Fourth Country in the World
in Port Infrastructure
- Port of Cartagena Receives for the
Sixth Time theAward as Best Port of
the Caribbean
- Brazil: Controversy for Crucial
Package of Measures for the Port
Sector
- The Largest Container Ship of the
World Enters the Europe-Asia Route.
- Trade Volumes are Slowing Down.
- Increase in Freight Tariffs MayAffect
Contract Negotiations for 2013.
- Hapag-Lloyd and Hamburg Süd
Analyze Possible Merger.
- Somber Future for the Naval
Construction Industry in 2013.
- Grupo Empresas Navieras of Chile
Start Investments for US$515 Million in
Fleet of Ships.
- Pacific Brazilian-Peru Route Brings
Businesses and Devastation
- SouthAmerica needs Infrastructure
Projects for US$116,000 Million for a
Better Integration
- The Three Largest Terminals of Latin
America will Enter in Operation in
Brazil in 2013.
- Open the Doors! Editorial of the
Editor of the Law of Ports of Colombia
in the Book Colombian Port Law.
LOGISTICS,COMPETITIVENESS
AND PORTS IN LATINAMERICA
MARITIME TRANSPORTATION
AND PORTS
LATINAMERICAAND THE WORLD
- “China Effect” Revives Mexico and
Shadows Brazil
- Positive Position of ECLAC
- Advancements of LatinAmerica Could
Transport it to its Development in the Next Decade.
WATERWAYS IN LATINAMERICA
- Navigation Recovery Starts in the
Magdalena River of Colombia.
- New Brazilian Waterway will Reduce One
Billion Dollars in Grains Freight Costs.

September - December 2012
SEditorial
For third consecutive year we successfully developed, on this occasion in
Chile, our Annual Public-Private Seminar, where representatives of the main
ports of the region analyzed the outcome of the industry. The host Minister of
Transportation, in his opening speech, established what would be the event:
“It is with great pride that while the world is going through a major crisis, Latin
America not only has overcome this crisis but continues to grow”, he stated, and
under this premise work was developed until accomplishing the Declaration of
Valparaiso and the conclusions of the event, of which you may find details in the
following pages.
An event worth mentioning is the package of port measures that the President of
Brazil launched the beginning of December, implying important changes in the
model of concessions and multimillionaire investments for the years to come, on
which topic we shall extend further on. As was said in Chile by the president elect
of Latinports, Arturo López, “the first stage of the opening of ports has been
met and now we are entering the second stage which is the modification of laws
to adapt them to the present situation of the industry, and for which the public-
private view of Latinports may be of great help”.
Also worth mentioning is that while the world shipping industry (and thus that of
shipyards), is undergoing an unprecedented crisis that has forced it to desperately
increase freights, to stop equipment, postpone investments and study mergers
in order to survive, the Group Empresas Navieras de Chile and its subsidiary
Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores, are starting an important expansion plan
of their fleet, convinced of the potential of the region.
On the other hand we are pleased to announce that in view of the impulse being
given to waterways in the principal countries of South America (Brazil, Argentina
and Colombia), so necessary for our countries foreign trade, we have decided
starting with this issue to include a special section for this important node of
transportation and river terminals that we are sure will be of great interest for our
readers. “If logistics through waterways did not exist, it had to be invented”, stated
in a recent forum consultant Jan Wilen Koeman, designer and responsible at the
time of the master plan of the Port of Rotterdam.
This and much more are indications that a promising year 2013 awaits us. Happy
New Year!
jpalacio@latinports.org
www.latinports.org
Julian Palacio
Executive Director

III ANNUAL SEMINAR OF LATINPORTS
CONVENED PORTS OF THE
CONTINENT IN VIÑA DEL MAR, CHILE
Pedro Pablo Errázuriz
Minister of Transportation
Under this title and its subtitle “Representatives
of the Main Ports of the Region Analyzed the
Future of the Industry”, Mundo Marítimo of
Chile highlighted the annual event of Latinports,
informing that “important persons of the port
activities of Latin America shared its experiences,
achievements and challenges”. This is a good extract
of what happened.
Developing our great annual event in Chile was
especially significant as we remember this country
as the one that started port decentralization
and privatization in Latin America, an example
successfully followed by most of the countries of
the region. Besides, this country stands out for its
permanent innovation in all sectors, which results
have made it a leader in logistics and competitiveness
in the region, as recently highlighted by the World
Bank and the Institute of Competitiveness Aden.
Thus, with the presence of the Minister of
Transportation and Telecommunications of Chile,
Pedro Pablo Errázuriz, on November 26 and 27 was
held at the grand Hotel Sheraton Miramar of Viña
del Mar, the important annual event of Latinports
in commemoration of 100 years of the port of
Valparaiso, focused on a topic of great relevance as
is Ports and Logistics Platforms for Foreign Trade.
Minister Errázuriz said it gave him great pride to
see that while the world was undergoing a great
crisis, Latin America was not only overcoming it
but continued to grow, and the president elect of
Latinports, Arturo López, considered that the first
stage of the opening of ports had been fulfilled
and the second stage was now the modification
of laws to adapt them to the present condition of
the industry, in reference to the importance of the
public-private associations in which Latinports could
be of great help.

Arturo López
President Elect of Latinports
With the remarkable sponsorship of Empresa
Portuaria Valparaíso and the concessionaire Terminal
Pacífico Sur, important matters were dealt with as
is the economic leadership of Latin America, the
repercussions of the extensions of the Panama
Canal regarding the size of vessels that will be
arriving to the region, the multimodal logistics
platforms, and the required integration of the
port with the city (in particular the project Puerto
Maravilla: Rio de Janeiro 2016). These matters,
masterfully developed by outstanding international
experts, served as the frame for the presentation
of the experiences and perspectives of some of
the most important containers terminals of the
region such as Valparaíso, Santos, Buenos Aires and
Cartagena. Conferences in general may be consulted,
in power point and video, in the link of the event of
our webpage www.latinports.org
“It is with great pride that while the world is living
a very large crisis, Latin America has not only
overcome this crisis but continues to grow”. This
sentence of the Minister of Transportation of Chile,
Pedro Pablo Errázuriz, was reconfirmed in detail by
ECLAC and served as the frame for the III Annual
Latin American Public Private Seminar, making ports
and countries aware of the necessity to benefit in
the best way possible of the potential of the region,
making laws flexible in such a way they adapt to
present situation by means of a public-private joint
work.
The event focused on this topic, highlighting the
great perspectives that open to the ports of the
region with the extension of the Panama Canal,
which opening is foreseen for 2015, as well as the
resulting requirements to receive ever larger ships
(currently ships arriving have 9,100 TEU capacity).
Also worth mentioning is the effort of the
governments to improve in a substantial manner
internal transportation and port connectivity, a field
in which the region is way behind compared to
developed countries, which reduces foreign trade
competitiveness.
On the other hand, port operators must not be
limited to the business as was first conceived but
to expand its field of action through distribution
logistics, in order to make connectivity more efficient
and reduce internal transportation costs, as is now
being successfully done by some large operators in
the region.
Conclusions of the event were entered in the
Declaration of Valparaiso, which we transcribe
below:
Multimodality and Logistics
Port-City Relationship and Sustainability
DECLARATION OF VALPARAISO 2012

INTERVIEW OF MUNDO MARÍTIMO TO THE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THEASSOCIATION:
CHAIRMAN OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF
LATINPORTSAT THE HARVARD
CLUB OF NEW YORK
Wonder Port Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Port of
Valparaiso are an example of the harmonious
relationship between city and port, with large
dividends for both and for the welfare of the
community in general. Ports must work on
sustainability to make this relationship even more
harmonious.
The Chairman of the Executive Committee of Latinports and of the Management Councils of Terminals of
Santos Brasil and Multiterminais, Richard Klien, referred at the Harvard Club of New York to the success of
port privatization in Brazil and the growth of its foreign trade, even higher than China’s, emphasizing that the
key to success for port efficiency is investment.
Also worth noting is the vision of the Chilean
government of a long-term (50-year) planning in
matter of transportation infrastructure and ports,
above the immediate interests.
Situation in Particular

LATINPORTS RECONFIRMED ITS COMMITMENT TO
COMBINE PUBLICAND PRIVATE EFFORTS
The executive director of Latinports, Julián Palacio,
after congratulating the excellent level of the lectures
presented during the event – that gathered important
persons from the industry of the principal ports
of Latin America – emphasized and renewed the
purpose of the association of adding up the efforts
of both public and private sectors towards the
development of the port industry of the continent,
an issue summarized in the slogan: “Governments
and private sector working together for port logistics
development of the region”. This was done during
the closing ceremony that took place at Hotel
Sheraton of Ciudad Jardín on 26-27 of November.
In reference to fulfillment of this objective,
Julián Palacio stressed that Latinports “is the only
association worldwide where the public and private
sector are working”, emphasizing that both sectors
may not be divorced, “we are working in the same
business and have to make it hand in hand”, he
stated, and likewise stressed the brief but successful
route of the association: “We have now three
years of age and have developed important things,
beginning with the fact that we were born with 15
ports, basically from Brazil, Mexico and Colombia,
and at present we are more than 45 ports in 12
countries”, he stated.
It is worth stating that the host of this version of the
seminar was the Port of Valparaiso, which added to
the meetings already held in Brasilia, which coincided
with 50 years of its foundation; and Cartagena,
where 20 years of the Law of Ports of Colombia
were commemorated. Also, the development of
the historic event in the Chilean port emphasized
the commemoration of its 100 years. Regarding the
latter, Julián Palacio remembered that “Chile was
the country of the region that first decided to allow
private initiative in the port industry, which resulted in
its excellent development”.
Altogether with the above, Julián Palacio mentioned
some of the elements that will be included in the
Declaration of Valparaiso, a document that – as
usual at the end of the development of each seminar
– will gather the conclusions and objectives to
be followed by the members of Latinports. This,
altogether with the analysis set forth during both days
of the seminar. In this sense, Palacio emphasized
as the main concern expressed by several of the
participants to improve logistics available within port
structures.
In this matter, the executive director of Latinports
stated that: “I always say nothing is more frustrating
than a very efficient port with a poor connectivity,
thus little favor is being done to foreign trade of
a country, because everything is being lost within
Logistics Chain: Basic Concern of the In dustry

“CHINAEFFECT” REVIVES MEXICOAND
SHADOWS BRAZIL
another part of the logistics chain. I believe emphasis
must be done and we must work hand in hand with
the governments to encourage all these projects we
have seen that are really big”, he stated referring to
the challenges of ports such as Santos, Buenos Aires,
Cartagena, and Valparaiso, among many of those
that expressed their challenges.
Within this scope, Julián Palacio declared himself
greatly surprised on how the works being developed
within the area of logistics support of the Port
According the information of Reuters América
Latina, Mexico is starting to displace Brazil as the
king of the Latin American markets for the same
reason it had been relegated to a second place within
the region: China. While the Mexican economy
gains in competitiveness and grows slowly but firmly
by the hand of the demand of the United States,
where it is starting to steal market from China,
Brazil decelerates because of the lower appetite of
Peking for raw materials, and for this reason foreign
portfolio investors continue increasing their exposure
to Mexico and reducing their stakes for Brazil, which
is vulnerable to the risk of a deeper eventual fall of
the Chinese economic rhythm.
During the first seven months of the year, the Stock
Exchange of Sao Paulo received a net flow of
foreign investment of 2,900 million dollars, which
was overcome by the 3,400 millions that entered the
Mexican market, according to the central banks of
both countries. Last year, the balance had been quite
different: Brazil had captured 7,100 million dollars,
whereas Mexico had to absorb the exit of 6,200
millions. And in 2010, the stock market of Sao Paulo
had seduced the trifle of 37,700 million compared to
the modest 640 million of its Mexican counterpart.
“The foreign investor, with no heart and no
emotion, (…) always goes where the best economic
opportunity lies and suddenly Brazil does not seem
of Valparaiso have expressly called the attention
of other countries such as Brazil. It must be
remembered that the sixth economic power of
the world has multimillionaire projects in port
infrastructure, mainly to be developed in Santos and
Rio de Janeiro, encouraged by nearby challenges as
the development of the Soccer World Cup in 2014
and the Olympic Games in 2016. This interest,
according to Palacio, clearly shows that things are
being well done in the Chilean port, mentioning its
logistics chain as “an example for all Latin America”.

Since China joined the World Trade Organization
(WTO) in 2001, Brazil triggered its growth mounted
on what seemed an insatiable demand from the
Asian power for its raw materials, while the Mexican
industries fought in the United States against cheap
Chinese products but, with a new government that
promises reforms to accelerate growth, Mexico
expects to consolidate a favorable trend in times
when the fall of Brazil coincides with the lower
expansion rate of the second economy of the world.
“The pendulum has oscillated back in favor of
Mexico”, stated Claudio Brocado, administrator of
funds for Batterymarch Financial Management Inc.,
that helps to supervise 5,900 million dollars invested
in shares of emerging countries. “It had oscillated
too much in the opposite direction”, he described.
as the best opportunity”, stated Luis Maizel, who
supervises the 7,000 million dollars invested by the
funds of Legg Mason Capital Management.
Brazil grew at rates that almost doubled those of
Mexico during the last decade and even obtained
the place as the greatest Latin American economy
in 2005, thus becoming the spoiled country of the
markets; but Mexico is starting to shine, and not
only because of the clouds over Brazil. While the
economy is routed to expand more than the Brazilian
for second consecutive year – something that did not
happen since 1999 – its industries competitiveness
is growing. The gap in labor costs compared to
China fell to 7 percent in 2011 from 238 percent
in 2002, according to Moody’s, and its links to the
United States, that is now leaving the crisis better
than other developed countries, becomes a less
vulnerable option than the global storm. That is
why its products are regaining space on U.S. racks
and market participation that had fallen 9.5 percent
in 2005 because of China, has now moved to 13
percent.
However, many expect that the largest Latin
American economy recovers in the next quarters as
a result of the collection of government measures
to reactivate growth and by the surge of investments
in infrastructure for the Soccer World Cup of 2014
and the Olympic Games of 2016. Data from EPFR
Global that monitors the activities of the investment
funds showed that by mid-September Brazil had in
three months the greatest flow of shares entering
the market after the approval in China of an
infrastructure plan for 150,000 million dollars to
reactivate its activity.
Barclays assures that besides the proximity with
the United States, Mexico has the increasing
specialization advantage in sectors of great added
value such as vehicles and telecommunications
equipment, which has helped makers to recover
grounds with China. Large products may take
Out of the Shadow

between four and five weeks to arrive to the United
States from China, but the Canadian Bombardier
Inc, for example, may send a truck in a Learjet 85,
almost finished, from its plant in the Mexican state
of Querétaro and assembled in Kansas in only two
days, according to the quality director of the Mexican
affiliate, Norman Thompson.
China’s growth of more than 7 percent per year
still has great advantage over the United States and
Mexico, but reduced to almost half since the crisis
and will probably continue within these levels as
Peking seeks a less explosive but more sustainable
expansion rate. And China cut its demand for
primary products: shipment of Brazilian mineral ore
and oil to its Asian partner, two of the main products
it sells, fell 21 and 13 percent, respectively, during
this year compared to the same period of 2011.
“Flows are now driven by the perception that the
Brazilian wagon is very subject to China that is now
decelerating and changing its orientation in a way it
reduces its intensity for raw materials and energy”,
stated Frances Hudson, strategist of Standard Life,
that has approximately 260 billion dollars in assets
invested worldwide.
Funds focused to invest in Brazil had an average
return of 6.74 percent during the first eight months
of the year, compared to an average of 8.17 percent
of those focused on Mexico, according to data from
Lipper, a company of Thomson Reuters. Foreign
investors are also diving into the markets of bonds
and Euan Munro, who supervises a portfolio of
27,300 million dollars, stated he is protecting his
portfolio against Chinese risks and leveling it with a
larger exposure to the United States by maintaining
Mexican bonds. “We look to emerging markets
against high return junk bonds and favor Mexico
within the emerging markets for its valuation and
fundamentals”, stated Munro.
The strategy of the Brazilian President, Dilma
Rousseff, is partly addressed to reinforce domestic
consumption with imposing exemptions and an
aggressive policy to reduce interest rates and revive
credit, but from the financial investor point of view,
the composition of the main stock index of Brazil,
Bovespa, this does not help for almost 40 percent
is linked to raw material producing companies. On
the contrary, in Mexico, two thirds of the leader
stock index CPI is formed by securities linked to
consumers such as telecommunications, retailers
and beverages. For Claudio Brocado, administrator
of funds for Battery March Financial Management,
this is partly explained because the CPI index has
increased almost 9 percent this year and is routed
to a level record compared to 7 percent of the
earnings of Bovespa. “The Mexican index is more
to the defensive”, he stated, in reference to the
stocks that provide dividends in a constant manner
and report stable profits. “Composition of the
index has favored Mexico in relation to its relative
performance”.
Unfavorable Exposure

POSITIVE POSITION OF ECLAC
When deceleration winds started blowing in Latin
America, as a result of the slowdown in global
economy, more than one analyst was questioned
how the region would react with the surf. ECLAC
provided its reply during a press conference held
at its office in Santiago de Chile. According to
this organization, growth of the Gross Domestic
Product of the countries of the area will be only
3.2 percent in 2012, a figure unfavorably compared
to the 4.3 percent of last year and 6.1 percent for
2010. However, the halt may be less worrying than it
seems, once certain realities are considered.
To begin with, the international context has changed
as a result of the European crisis, the mediocre
performance of the United States and the slowdown
of China. These three elements have hit more or
less the different Latin American nations, as it is
difficult to talk of a uniform impact. Because of
this, it is difficult to generalize and better to move to
analysts case by case. For example, it is inevitable to
Below is the editorial of the director of the
economic publication Portafolio of Colombia,
Ricardo Avila, on October 2012:
pass up the situation of Brazil that is not having a
good moment and its economy has a weight equal to
more than one third of the regional GDP. According
to ECLAC, the South American giant shall only
advance 1.6 percent that will serve as ballast for the
results of the entire zone. Likewise, Argentina is
facing problems because of policies promoted by
the government of Cristina Fernández that have
weakened domestic confidence and shown a growth
of only 2 percent because of the strong draught that
affected the soybean crop in this country.
However, in the rest of Latin America, perspectives
are fairly good, with the exception of some
Caribbean islands. In other words, dynamics may
not be spectacular, but things are relatively good.
This affirmation may be verified by the evolution of
urban unemployment that continues to fall to levels
of a 6.8 percent average. Most employed population
is the best guarantee for poverty rates to decrease
again, after having reached a historical minimum
last year, and for internal consumption to maintain
relatively vigorous. On the other hand, inflation
is under control, while fiscal indicators are solid,
which are the envy at other latitudes. The balance of
international reserves has also increased, and at the
same time public debt is not a reason of concern.
Thus, the region may rest assured regarding how
it has evolved in the midst of very complex global
circumstances.
Upon saying the above, eyes must be kept open.
In its diagnosis, ECLAC insists that dangers from
outside are real and expressed in the low dynamics
of international trade. But in case of a sudden
deterioration of the requirements of the countries

It had been established that the expression in
process of development is no longer being used for
Latin American countries. The fact is that political,
economic and social advancements within the region,
according to some economists, could take us to
development the next decade.
Figures support us. Latin America currently
represents 8% of world population and 9% of world
GDP, and has a rent per capita doubling the average
of emerging countries. Latin America is catching up
with several economies that were ahead for a long
time, thanks, among other factors, to the executive
talent within this region.
The Latin executives have a series of competences
that make them stand out compared to the
Europeans, Asians and Anglo-Saxons. They are
efficient and academically well trained professionals,
with deep-rooted expectations for a better future,
proper of a culture that challenges time, as it seeks to
attain development.
On the other hand, although differentiating elements
exist, Latin America has a similar culture and history.
We share the same language and an idiosyncrasy that
makes us friendly, family lovers, homogeneous in
religious beliefs and feeling proud of our traditions
and customs.
If we further add up our growing potential, we may
affirm it is the time for Latin America. The growth
of our population takes us through a virtuous circle,
on one hand fighting poverty with the generation of
Considering it of great interest, we transcribe below
an article of Christian Duarte, president of the Group
Transearch – Mandomedio of Chile, published by
Educaméricas the end of December:
ADVANCEMENTS OF LATINAMERICACOULD
TRANSPORT IT TO ITS DEVELOPMENT
IN THE NEXT DECADE.
located either on the other side of the Atlantic or the
Pacific, maintaining good conditions will be a titanic
task. This warning bell must be listened by all Latin
American countries. As has been the constant as
of the end of 2008, the great factor of uncertainty
is again happening in the rest of the world. But if
nothing catastrophic occurs, in 2013 there should
be an upturn that would take regional growth to
4 percent, an acceptable figure considering the
difficulties seen in other continents, and that this
time have abstained from passing a large collection
account.

We have the responsibility and the great challenge
that Latin America will continue the path of growth.
Today, despite political differences that have caused
some countries to recur to international courts, at
the level of businessmen a cooperation environment
of working together has maintained for the
development of the entire region; because the walls
that separate governments are much smaller when
starting and developing businesses.
new jobs, attracting foreign investment, growing in
infrastructures and improving distribution networks.
Today, regional companies have their own engine.
They are multi-Latin. It is not new that our
companies are growing towards other countries of
the region because we are interested in investing
in ourselves, above all in the face of a depressed
Europe, and a United States fighting with China for
economic leadership.
Measures Announced: Folha summarized well
the principal provisional measures announced by
President Dilma Rousseff and the Minister of
Ports Leônidas Cristino. Besides the opening of the
proprietary (private ports for private services) and
the rebidding of approximately 50 port terminals
with expired contracts (leased prior to the Law
of Ports of 1993), measures were the following:
concession of five public ports, of which three are
new (Manaus, Ilhéus and Vitória) and two existing
ones (Imbituba and Ilhéus); tenders at public ports
through bidding criteria that will weigh the best tariff
and higher cargo movement; creation of Conaporto
that will gather all public agents working at ports
in only one location (police, customs and sanitary
supervision, among others); and the creation of a
centralized dredging system with a ten-year term (an
institute will study a permanent system); the National
Water Transportation Agency, Antaq, and river ports,
will move to the Secretary’s Office of Ports; and
breaking down the monopoly of the Navy to train
and register practical pilots: a national committee
formed by technicians will make rules flexible in
order to increase the number of ship stevedores and
debureaucratize work to reduce costs.
The government package expects to attract about
US$27 billion in private investments for the next
five years (until 2017), investing out of this amount
US$16 billion between 2013 and 2015. To attract
private interests, the government will guarantee
public financing of the port system projects to reach
US$17 billion, of which US$3.5 billion will be for
access works to ports.
BRAZIL:
CONTROVERSY FOR CRUCIAL PACKAGE OF MEASURES
FOR THE PORT SECTOR

Richard Klien
Chairman of Latinports
Divided Opinions of Entrepreneurs: The
Brazilian Association of Containers Terminals,
Abratec, shows its concerns with these measures:
“While the constitutional principle is in force that the
port is a public service activity in the country, this is
illegal”, stated Sérgio Salomão, president of Abratec.
In preparation for the package, this association
presented a study identifying the possibility to invest
US$5 billion in the new terminals until 2021, but
in relation to what Salomão considers as disloyal
competition, “these investments are at risk”.
However, for the president of the Brazilian
Association of Private Terminals, ABTP, Wilen
Manteli, the announcement of the president had
good news as is the requirement of eliminating its
own cargo in private terminals for private use, an
opinion shared by Pedro Brito, director of the state
organization National Water Transportation Agency,
Antaq: “Differentiating between own and third-
party cargo has ended”, he said. However, Manteli
disagreed with the rebidding of port terminals with
expired contracts and said he hoped contents of
this provisional measure is modified as, in case there
were more proposals, “where will the terminal be
built if the land belongs to the first investor?” For
this reason he added that “congress has to honor
the Law of Ports that he himself approved in 1993,
after two years of discussions”, and concluded saying
that “if congress does not welcome these arguments,
we will go to court, as this would be harmful for
everyone, even for the government that will not see
expected investments”.
For the chairman of the executive committee
of Latinports, Richard Klien (chairman of the
management councils of the important containers
terminals of Santos Brasil and MultiRío), “since
decision was made to revoke the Law of Ports,
there will be modifications in all the articles to
the Provisional Measure and a serious discussion
in congress; without a strong hand to coordinate
procedures, the risk exists of having a blackout at
ports”.
Port Workers on the Defensive: The measure did
not please port workers according to the president
of the National Port Federation, Eduardo Guerra,
quoted by Tribuna. The trade unionist suggests
that changes in the legislation may generate great
impacts in the working system of ports, as in the case
of port management concessions. “With this, the
government is opening privatizing port management,
which represents a regression”, he said. Another
concern of the unionist is the permit so that private
initiative builds new ports other than the organized
ports to move third party cargo. “Besides taking
cargo from public ports, this measure may generate
precariousness of work as these terminals may hire
workers not registered in the Ogmo (Manpower
Management Organization) and therefore, without a
series of rights guaranteed by the law”. According to

Tribuna, port unions of Santos will decide in a joint
general meeting in January the approval of a general
stoppage in all Brazilian ports, to be done February
16-17, in order to achieve revoking the provisional
measure.
Ports Package Attracts Investments for more than
US$10 million: Valor informed that large groups
have already presented 23 new projects to the
government to be implemented in the years 2016-
2017, according to estimates of Palacio de Planalto
(the Presidential Palace). “Public calls” are about to
come out where the government will inform the
market on the existence of the projects, opening
Making a brief recount of the needs within the port
environment, the new Minister of Communications
and Transportation, Gerardo Ruiz, mentioned the
importance of making viable projects as the second
containers terminal of the Port of Lázaro Cárdenas,
an issue yet to be solved by courts, thus affirming
this will be the flagship of his administration before
the Secretary’s Office of Communications and
Transportation (SCT). He assured these facilities will
give Lázaro Cárdenas the possibility to compete with
great strength for the arrival of goods from the East
and to become a “great hub center” to distribute its
cargo to different locations in the Americas.
“This will be the first work started by this
administration. I expect to start these works, which
are in conditions to be initiated with a very important
investment of approximately one billion dollars”,
stated the Minister.
In an interview with T21, the executive director of
the Association of Terminals and Port Operators
ATOP, Jaime Aguilar, showed his approval on the
appointment of the new Minister and assured he
is a person of recognized capacity, experience and
knowledgeable of the situation, which ascertains that
“the relationship to be started with the new director
of SCT will result in a greater development for the
port sector of our country”.
them to competition. Calls will have 30-day duration,
and during this time any company may offer an
alternative project.
Provisional Measure will be Discussed in the
February Congress: The mixed committee of
representatives and senators that will analyze the
Provisional Ports Measure issued by President Dilma
Rousseff, will be installed after the parliamentary
recess in February 2013.
NEW MEXICAN GOVERNMENT INTENDS TO
CONVERT LÁZARO CÁRDENAS IN THE HUB FOR
THEAMERICAS.

After the announcement of starting civil works in
the month of December and the support of the
new federal authorities to the project, the director
for Latin America of APM Terminals, J.D. Nielsen,
stated to T21 that TEC II of Lázaro Cárdenas
in México will become an added value to the
businesses. He commented that his plan includes
offering the facilities to all interested shipping
companies, as well as the possibility of providing
facilities to freight forwarders and customs agents.
“APM Terminals is proud of being at Lázaro
Cárdenas and we are looking forward to become an
added value for the businesses of the port and the
city, and also for the state of Michoacán in Mexico”,
stated Nielsen.
Upon asking why APM Terminals chose the Port
of Lázaro Cárdenas for a new containers terminal,
the executive stated it was basically because of its
geographic location placing it closer to the “huge”
market of Mexico City, over any other port in the
Pacific coast. “The port has an excellent water depth,
which allows handling large size containers ships.
There is no congestion at the port and clients will
profit of a more efficient handling of its cargo.
There is an excellent railway connection directly to
the market of Mexico City, and finally, the port is well
directed and managed by the port administration”,
stated Nielsen.
Some years ago, Maersk affiliate had announced
investments for a logistics cluster at the port of
Panama that finally did not materialize; therefore, the
TEC II project at Lázaro Cárdenas may fill the mega
investment that had been thought of. However, J.D.
Nielsen rejected this idea and said that TEC II is
basically addressed to the market of Mexico, “but
we will also be capable of offering a transshipment
service to and from other markets of Central and
South America”.
Plans of APM Terminals
The Port of Lázaro Cárdenas is the largest Mexican
seaport and one of the largest seaports in the Pacific
Ocean Basin, with an annual traffic capacity of
around 25 million tonnes of cargo and 2,200,000
TEUs.
The Port of Lázaro Cárdenas

it to be one of the most competitive of the Central
American region.
The movement of containers in Panamanian ports
closed 2012 with a 5% increase arriving at 7 million
TEU, an increase much lower to that of 2012
because of a workers stoppage that considerably
reduced a growth forecast higher than 18%. Of
this total, the Port of Balboa, managed by Panama
Ports Company, moved 2.6 million TEU, that is,
1.2% more than previous year. Cristóbal moved
740 thousand TEU. Furthermore, Manzanillo
International Terminal (MIT) received 1.7 million
TEU, 10% more; the Port of Colon Container
Terminal (CCT) moved 513,000 TEU, Bocas Fruit,
almost 30,000 and Panama International Terminal
(PSA), 53,000 TEU. According to Enel Camargo,
of the Maritime Chamber of Panama, the maritime
trade market has 180 companies dedicated to
maritime activities, “which represent 20% of the
gross domestic product, and is the one with the
highest growth in national economy”.
Based on information of Mundo Marítimo of the
end of September, quoting the paper La Prensa,
efforts of the sector have positioned Panama
as the fourth country of the world for its port
infrastructure quality. This was stated in the Global
Competitiveness Report for 2012-2013, prepared
annually by the World Economic Forum. In this
issue, Panama moved up one place since last year,
when it was in the fifth place of the world, indicating
a continuous institutional development curve in
movement of containers. In fact, the report of the
World Economic Forum mentions that port sector
as one of the main elements for the efficiency
model of Panamanian economy, which has taken
According to Mundo Marítimo, the Colombian Port
of Cartagena received for sixth time the distinction
as the Best Port of the Caribbean granted by the
Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA) for its
achievement in 2011 in the fields of infrastructure,
cargo increase, reliability and efficiency, among
others, during the forty-second Annual Congress of
the organization being held this week in San Juan,
Puerto Rico.
PANAMA: FOURTH COUNTRY IN THE WORLD IN
PORT INFRASTRUCTURE
PORT OF CARTAGENARECEIVES FOR SIXTH TIME
THEAWARDAS BEST PORT OF THE CARIBBEAN

Chile, seeking for businesses. Brazil needed an
exit to export its products to the Asian markets
in the Pacific and was the main sponsor of the
Interoceanic. The non-governmental organization
of journalism, Connectas, traveled almost 700 km
of the Interoceanic to see the changes this route
had brought for the environment and the lives of
persons.
The distinction, granted by the vote of all CSA
associates – formed by ports and shipping
companies – is granted in the category of “Container
Terminal” and includes other specific areas in
which the port fully showed satisfactory results, as
improvement of physical and industrial security
and advances in infrastructure. Such advances
allow facing with great autonomy the commercial
challenges resulting from the trade agreements of
Colombia with other nations, and also the flow of
the large size ships that will arrive at its docks after
the completion of the expansion of the Panama
Canal in April 2015.
Acknowledgement by CSA was made public at
the capital of Puerto Rico and add up to those
previously received by the Port of Cartagena in
Bridgetown, Barbados, in 2005; Panama City in
2006; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in
2007; Paramaribo, Surinam, in 2009, and Kingston,
Jamaica, in 2010.
Estado of Brazil informed of the Interoceanic South
highway 5,400 km long that connects the Peruvian
Pacific and the Brazilian Atlantic, opened a year ago.
This brought forth great wealth and development
opportunities, but also great environmental and
social challenges. The road opened in the triple
border of Brazil, Peru and Bolivia an extended
area of forests and thousands of persons are
arriving to live there, besides a great number of
investors from China, Russia, France, Mexico and
CSA was created in 1971 to facilitate in an efficient
manner maritime industry development in the
Caribbean and its members are twelve shipping
associations and more than a hundred individual
entities, including port authorities, terminal operators,
and maritime agents, shipping lines, cargo consultants
and agents, among others.
This accomplishment of the Port of Cartagena has
been possible thanks to the effort of its human team
and the confidence deposited by the international
maritime sector, allowing the port to function as
logistics distribution center for five of the most
important shipping lines of the world and to project
as regional leader in containers transshipment, efforts
that for several years have been extensively valued
by CSA, to whose members it thanks this new
acknowledgement..
PACIFIC BRAZILIAN-PERU ROUTE BRINGS
BUSINESSESAND DEVASTATION

September - December 2012Mayo - Agosto 2011

Brazil and Peru, and between these countries and
Bolivia. On the other hand, Chile expects to see
commercial opportunities to grow, considering that
the road will give access to a market of 200 million
Brazilian consumers.
Interoceanic has in average a flow of only 160 cargo
vehicles per month (most of it carrying timber to
the Pacific) and almost 640 passenger vehicles, as
stated by toll officers at kilometer 73 of the Peruvian
pampa. Three reasons explain why the resounding
commercial bonanza of the road between the three
countries is taking long to takeoff. The first is there
are no agreements for a more organized border
crossing. The second is that in theory it is cheaper to
transport cargo from Brazil to Peruvian ports, but
since the vehicle carrying cargo must return empty,
then this country exports less or freights are more
expensive. Finally, it is not easy for chauffeurs to
drive these huge Brazilian trucks through the narrow
Andean Peruvian roads on the way to Juliaca, south
of Peru, where some curves are so narrow that even
passenger buses have difficulties going through.
The scenario shown is somewhat chaotic: illegal
mining extraction, especially in Peru and Bolivia,
and the transit facilitated for drug and persons
trafficking. In the meantime, commercial exchange,
its principal reason of being, is starting to give results.
Until now, the products of the region of Acre in
Brazil, such as soybean, have to travel more than
26 thousand kilometers to arrive to China, with a
costly mandatory passage by the Panama Canal, but
the new road reduces this distance to 17.5 thousand
kilometers. Furthermore, Peru may send its products
at a lower cost to Africa and Europe, loading them
directly at the Brazilian ports in the Atlantic. The
Interoceanic is expected to improve trade between
South America requires investments for
approximately US$116 million in infrastructure
projects to reach a better regional integration, stated
the head of the Ministry of Transportation and
Communications (MTC) of Peru, Carlos Paredes,
in his closing speech at the third ordinary meeting
of ministers of the South American Council of
Infrastructure and Planning (Cosiplan) that was
held in Lima in November. Paredes is acting pro
témpore president of the entity. “Member states
have a commitment to prepare plans oriented to
improve tools for the execution and conclusion of
high impact projects in the region, actions that will
allow taking greater impetus towards the integration
process between South American countries”, he
stated.
The infrastructure ministers of the member states
of Cosiplan ratified a portfolio of projects originally
informed in November 2011, which includes 531
projects distributed in nine integration agreements
in the entire region. Of these, 31 are considered as
priorities, which will require an investment of almost
US$17 billion.
SOUTHAMERICANEEDS INFRASTRUCTURE
PROJECTS FOR US$116,000 MILLION
FORABETTER INTEGRATION

The mixed use Private Port Complex of the Super
Port of Açu, in construction by LLX, logistics
company of the Group EBX, is the highest
investment in port infrastructure of Latin America.
These works, located in the state of Rio de Janeiro
(next to Bahía de Campos, area responsible for 85%
of oil and gas production of Brazil), characterized
by an innovating project, as is the port-industry
concept, allies modern engineering, construction and
operation practices, involving investments for US$2
billion. Of this total, US$500 billion must be invested
by LLX Minas-Rio (responsible of implanting the
port terminal dedicated to mineral ore) and US$1,5
billion for LLX Açu (responsible of the operation of
other cargoes as steel, oil, coal, granite, slag, iron ore
products and cargo in general).
Being located next to the principal producing and
consumer poles of the country, the Super Port of
Açu has great potential of becoming the principal
alternative for production transportation of the
center-west and southeast states of the country,
currently suffering of lack of logistics accesses.
Besides, the region has the adequate depth to receive
large ships. Thus, the Super Port of Açu will have
an initial depth of 21 meters, with perspectives to
expand to 26 meters, sufficient for Capesize vessels
and Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) transporting
up to 320 thousand tons of cargo, and Chinamax
carriers that have 400 thousand ton capacity. At
present, only 7% of Brazilian ports have capacity to
receive Capesize vessels.
Forecast is that the Super Port of Açu moves 350
million tons per year between exports and imports,
with emphasis on oil, and this will position it among
the three largest port complexes of the world.
Operations are foreseen to start in 2013.
Embraport, Brazilian Company of Port Terminals,
is a project of Odebrecht Transport with DP
World and the Group Coimex, located in an area of
850,000 square meters at the Port of Santos, to build
and operate a private mixed-use private terminal.
Once completed, the terminal may move 2 million
TEU and 2 billion liters of liquid bulk. Estimated to
start operating in 2013, the terminal has absorbed
investments for about US$1.2 trillion.
THE THREE LARGEST TERMINALS OF LATIN
AMERICAWILL ENTER IN OPERATION
IN BRAZIL IN 2013.

first phase 1.4 million tons per year of liquid bulk and
1.2 million TEU per year.
“With the new terminals (Embraport and BTP)
operating at full speed, in 2014 the movement
capacity for containers in the complex will jump to
8.1 million TEU compared to 3.14 million at present”
stated Tribuna.
Brasil Terminal Portuario BTP, corporation formed
by two large global operators, APM Terminals and
Terminal Services Limited, will start operations
the first quarter of 2013, with an investment of
more than US$1 billion. According to International
Finance Corporation IFC of the World Bank,
cofinancier of the works, this new containers
terminal located at the Port of Santos will be the
principal Brazilian terminal and the most important
of Latin America. BTP has foreseen to move in its
Extracts of the Prologue of Hugo Palacios, editor of
the Law of Ports of Colombia (Law One of 1991),
to the book Colombian Port Law of Oscar Fabián
Gutiérrez:
“This book is called to have many readers and
editions because Colombia, finally, is leaving behind
the ECLAC remnants and has decided to open its
doors and ports to the world (…)
During a long time, the country, which was
imposed an economic vision obliging it to seek
development by contemplating its own navel, did
not have a great need for its ports. Buenaventura,
Barranquilla, Cartagena and, in a certain way Santa
Marta, developed their ports thanks to coffee
growers and an occasional bold entrepreneur that
maintained them alive since the time of the colony.
Since ports were not very important for the country
that was closed to the world, governments did not
have remorse to look the other way, while corrupt
unions and corrupt bureaucracies of government
companies made of ports a private source of income
and of advantages for its members. (…)
Law 1 of 1991 transformed ports belonging to a
state company that became mixed corporations,
for public service. Private persons did not want to
invest in such companies as, based on experience,
it was difficult to believe they could be profitable.
Some, driven above all by civic reasons, invested and,
as said by their enemies, became immensely rich in
the process; this version must be true, as I have not
seen the accused defending themselves. In any case,
these corporations have further done considerable
OPEN THE DOORS!: EDITORIAL BY THE EDITOR OF
THE LAW OF PORTS OF COLOMBIAIN THE BOOK
COLOMBIAN PORT LAW.

investments to improve port services, and they have
achieved it. (…)
(…) Many other things could be said on innovations
to Law 1 in the field of public policies and
administrative law. Óscar Fabián Gutiérrez, in this
book, does it with singular talent and precision,
without limiting, as many other books of law, to
paraphrase legal rules. He well knows, after many
years of practice, the rules, jurisprudence and scarce
“We are very pleased to announce in Cormagdalena
(Corporación Autónoma Regional del Río Grande
de la Magdalena) the opening of this process, thus
we are complying with the express instructions
of President Juan Manual Santos, for whom the
recovery of the Magdalena River constitutes one of
the most important infrastructure projects”, stated
Executive Director, Augusto García, last October
23rd. This process will extend until May 2013, when
the best offer resulting from a selection process will
be awarded.
The project involves the construction of civil works
in rock on the 256 kilometers from Puerto Salgar-
La Dorada to Barrancabermeja, and dredging
maintenance and other activities, along the River
to Bocas de Ceniza (Barranquilla), to guarantee a
minimum depth of 7 feet all year round, enabling it
to transport convoys of up to 7,200 tons each.
doctrine on the matter. His fine criterion as a lawyer
allows him to read, between lines, the sense of port
regulations. Whoever wishes to know how the
port sector operates in Colombia must read this
book. And who believes in making the necessary
adaptations of the rules of Law 1 to the new realities
and technologies of foreign trade, must also read it to
know where to start from… and not risk inventing
things already invented.”
NAVIGATION RECOVERY STARTS IN THE
MAGDALENARIVER OF COLOMBIA

Reactivation of the Magdalena River will offer
economic benefits as the decrease in internal
freights, increasing competitiveness of our products
abroad, environmental benefits, reducing effects of
emissions of greenhouse gases, and connecting the
Folha of Brazil informed that the government
decided to take the first step for the construction of
the waterway Tapajós-Teles Pires, which will evacuate
through the territory of Pará the production of
grain from north of Mato Grosso, and has opened
a tender to define the company that will develop
feasibility studies and the project of works. Aprosoja
(association that congregates soybean and maize
producers of the Mato Grosso) estimates that
transportation cost of a ton of soybean would fall
from US$110 to US$20 with the waterway. In one
year, the sector would save one trillion dollars.
country without intervening its landscape, wetlands,
biodiversity and social benefits, rescuing many
abandoned municipalities of which the only reason
of being was its proximity to the Magdalena River.
Works will eliminate obstacles as rocks and sandy
rivers, making navigable somewhat more than 1,000
km, starting at the Teles Pires River and following
to the Tapajós River up to the port of Santarém,
from where arrival to the Atlantic Ocean is possible
by the Amazon River. With this, grain production
in Mato Grosso, which main evacuation route is by
road and railroad to the port of Santos, will gain a
new route.
NEW BRAZILIAN WATERWAY WILL REDUCE ONE
BILLION DOLLARS IN FREIGHT COSTS OF GRAINS

Container Management informed the latest update of
global freight data collected by the International
Transport Forum (ITF) at the OECD, which shows
that global trade volumes are slowing down. Total
external trade by sea (in tons) has remained stagnant
below pre-crisis levels in the European Union (EU)
and the US (-2% and -10%, respectively) according
to seasonally adjusted preliminary estimates of goods
carried until August 2012.
A 38% increase in freight tariffs for container
maritime cargo in the Asia-Europe market may affect
the next contracts negotiations in 2013, as stated
in the evaluation of tariffs of the route Shanghai-
Rotterdam of the World Container Index (WCI)
According to Container Management, by mid-
November the vessel Marco Polo of CMA-CGM,
the largest container vessel of the world, started its
first voyage at Ningbo, China. It was built by DSME
(Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering) in
South Korea, and has a capacity of 16,000 TEU, 396
meters of length, 54 meters of beam and 16 meters
of draft (53 feet).
THE LARGEST CONTAINER SHIP OF THE
WORLD ENTERS THE EUROPE-ASIAROUTE
TRADE VOLUMESARE SLOWING DOWN
RAISE IN FREIGHT TARIFFS MAYAFFECT
CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS FOR 2013

of Drewry, informed Mundo Marítimo. The report
that captures freight tariffs valid for a one-month
contract, confirmed that price increases announced
by shipping companies for November 1st were
amply accepted by the market.
However, Martin Dixon, research and benchmarking
manager of freight tariffs of Drewry said this
increase in tariffs is expected to be partially reverted
in the following weeks, but despite that tariff
increases will probably influence negotiations of
annual contracts for 2013 establishing a higher
starting point compared to previous year. The
increase of 38% in freight tariffs for the Asia-Europe
route increased to US$2,865 per 40-feet units,
showing the most recent of a series of continuous
price fluctuations this year and revealing the high
volatility of that market.
“Almost three fourths of the increases of US$500
per planned TEU were implemented, based on our
market evaluations in Europe and China”, stated
The largest shipping companies of regular services
of containers transportation of Germany, Hapag-
Lloyd and Hamburg Süd are now analyzing a
possible merger to become a major global weight
actor and thus overcome recession suffered by the
sector in the last four years. The combination of
forces would locate them as the fourth operator at
world level after Maersk Line, MSC and CMA CGM,
enabling the establishment of a powerful fleet of
about 250 vessels.
“This is a business where size cares”, stated the
Richard Heath, director of WCI. However, the
situation is not yet as alarming. Drewry stressed that
increases week by week are less significant than the
period during which these increases are maintained.
For example, during the months of March, April,
May and July, WCI registered large increases in
tariffs, but after the July increase tariff decreases were
constant.
Drewry makes a call to shippers to consider adopting
the mechanism of linking prices to an index and
thus preventing default in contracts within current
environment of major price volatility.
In December, shortly after writing this article, Mundo Marítimo
reported that Hamburg Süd increased their tariffs for services
from the west coast of South America to its destination in
North America, Asia and Europe, applicable as of January
15 and February 1st, 2013.
HAPAG-LLOYDAND HAMBURG SÜDANALYZE
POSSIBLE MERGER

analyst of Westend Brokers Research, Klaus
Kraenzle, who explained that if continuing with
present situation “Hamburg Süd could, in the long
term, have difficulties to keep up in the same level
with the principal players of the industry”. Therefore,
he sees with good eyes a possible merger: “This
would be a good step, which would give Germany
a worldwide player in maritime transportation”, he
considered.
Both companies tried but could not join forces 16
years ago, and they stated in a joint declaration last
December 18 that they are analyzing in detail when
and in what conditions the merger would be of
interest. Based on sources close to Hapag-Lloyd,
conversations that started a few months ago should
materialize before the end of the first quarter of
2013.
The container shipping sector has been fighting
against the worst crisis of its history, caused by
a weak global economy, the oversupply of ships
The naval construction world industry faces a
somber future for 2013 as orders have decreased as
a result of current global crisis of the naval industry,
as stated in the most recent version of the revision
and annual forecast of the naval construction
market of Drewry, informed Mundo Marítimo. In
a global industry as the shippers market, once an
area faces problems it is not long before the entire
industry plunges into a crisis. In the case of the
naval construction market, the situation has reached
the same we have seen in the rest of the industry:
oversupply facing low demand. This, altogether
with the increase in tariffs, reflects the fact that for
some time now the activity of orders for new vessels
has exceeded trade growth requirements. In simple
terms, the difference between forecast demand and
capacity is too big to be satisfied by the isolated
contraction of the capacity of an area, which requires
that shipyards will have to fight to survive by assuring
themselves enough orders in the years to come.
and the low freight tariffs. A clear example of
this situation is that German shipowners, in the
beginning of this year, saw the need to apply for
a state rescue. It must be noted that the German
country is the home of the largest fleet of container
vessels, amounting to 1,800 of the 5,000 existing
vessels worldwide.
The major shareholder of Hapag-Lloyd, Klaus-
Michael Kuehne, has tried for some time to combine
the group with a powerful partner, arguing an alliance
would be sensible between a Hapag-Lloyd strongly
focused in Asia and a Hamburg-Süd very powerful
in the routes to and from South America. Kuehne,
who controls the Swiss logistics group Kuehne &
Nagel and has approximately 28 percent of Hapag-
Lloyd, stated that the strategy would be even better if
these two German colossi would merge with a third
shipping company of Asia. In fact, approximately
five years ago there was an attempt to bring together
Hapag-Lloyd and Neptune Orient Lines (NOL)
of Singapore, but the agreement failed after hot
discussions on who would be the major shareholder.
Crisis and search of new partners
SOMBER FUTURE FOR THE NAVAL
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN 2013

Three alternatives for an uncertain future
To provide a more profound viewpoint of future
perspectives of the shipyard industry, the document
of Drewry presents three alternative scenarios
on the forecast of the construction requirements
according to sector and type of ship, over a 15-
year period, reflecting the uncertainty that affects
the industry. The report of Drewry shows that
only for the scenario set forth in the case of major
vessels there is a demand of more orders beyond
reserve orders as of the beginning of 2012. On the
contrary, the base case is more realistic presenting
almost the total number of orders according to types
of fleet in the beginning of 2012 with an amount of
portfolio orders that exceeds the demand that would
exist in 2016.
Conclusion: Forecasts for the shipyard market are
somber. A greater access to financing, either through
retained reserves or by debt acquisition continues
being limited to shipowners and under current
circumstances it seems inevitable that new order
levels will maintain low for some more time.
Three soccer fields in line are the dimensions
that may contain each of the ships to be acquired
by Grupo Empresas Navieras (GEN), wrote
El Mercurio, quoted by Mundo Marítimo. The
company started the greatest acquisition plan of
ships that may be remembered by its controllers,
which involves six modern Post Panamax vessels
with a nominal capacity of nine thousand TEU and
value of approximately US$86 million. Thus, the
global operation would add up to about US$515
million.
GEN started this plan with the mandate to build
two vessels given to the shipyard Hanjin Heavy
Industries, one of the most important conglomerates
of South Korea, to be delivered in 2014. The
shipping group is refining financing to acquire other
four vessels and within the next five months must
confirm the purchase option to the same maker.
GRUPO EMPRESAS NAVIERAS OF CHILE START
INVESTMENTS FOR US$515 MILLION
IN FLEET OF SHIPS

NEW MEMBERS
DISTINCTIONS
The object of Empresa Portuaria Valparaiso EPV
is management, exploitation, development and
preservation of the Port of Valparaiso, and also
the properties it may have on any title, including
all activities connected to the port environment,
essential for its due fulfillment. It maintains four
concession contracts with important companies
Liebherr-Werk Nenzing GmbH was awarded the
Clean Technology State Prize Austria 2012, among
a total of more than 200 submitted projects –
double the total number of 2010 – which shows the
surprising evidence of the innovating strength of
Austria in the sectors of environment and energetic
technology.
Liebherr is world leader in manufacturing movable
gantry cranes and obtained the prize for Pactronic,
the first hybrid hydraulic unit for cranes and
The Group Incatep was certified by the Brazilian
government and by the ANAB of the United States
to provide courses of the Program of Professional
Maritime Teaching to all ports of Brazil. This
achievement comes to add up to a certification
program of competences for port equipment
operators, which is certified by ABS/QE of Brazil
and by ANAB of the USA. Incatep also has
certifications ISO 9001:2008
construction machinery that accomplishes an
increase in its performance of up to 30 percent
and at the same time reduces fuel and energy
consumption in 30 percent.
of the country to potentiate port competitiveness,
according to logistics, security and technology, all this
in harmony with the sustainable development of the
city. It also has under its administration important
public spaces in Valparaiso, such as the quay
promenades Paseo Muelle Prat and Paseo Muelle Barón.
Webpage of the port is www.puertovalparaiso.cl
and its general manager is Harald Jaeger hjaeguer@
puertovalparaiso.cl

Septiembre - Diciembre 2012
News Of Latin American Ports
Argentina
Grupo Ultramar of Chile Enters Port of
Rosario:
Through a training program called Protep, with
teachers fluidly speaking Portuguese, Spanish
and English, Incatep certifies and guarantees
competences for port workers at the main ports
of Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia and Mozambique
(Africa). These trainings were developed to assist
in the new competences required nowadays in
the world, and for this the training program called
Protep uses last generation simulators developed by a
company part of the group, WSS (Work Education,
According to information of Mundo Marítimo of
the end of September, Grupo Ultramar of Chile
reached an agreement to acquire 30% of the shares
of Terminal Puerto Rosario (TPR), located on the
Paraná River, south of the province of Santa Fe, in
Argentina. Ultramar, through its affiliate Neltume,
acquired the percentage from the corporation Inter
Rosario Port Services of Spain that had this 30%
class A shares of the port.
The entry of Ultramar will enable having two
directors in TPR, while the Argentinean group
Vicentín will keep control with its 70% and three
directors in the company. It is expected that
this process, if it has the authorizations of the
Administration Entity of the Port of Rosario, will be
signed shortly and thus Ultramar may formally enter
as owner of the port. Ultramar will be in charge
of developing the containers business of the port
that today moves about 50 thousand TEU/year, far
from the 973,000 TEU handled by Valparaiso or the
870,000 TEU moved by San Antonio. Besides, other
cargoes transferred at the port will be potentiated.
Thus, Ultramar adds up another port operation to its
portfolio, including participations in 9 port terminals.
Simulation and Service). Portable simulators
correspond to the following equipment: STS, RTG,
MHC, Reach Stacker, Forklift Truck, Jib Board
Crane, and Gantry Board Crane.

In 2013 will be awarded the Concession for the
New Port of Santa Fe
Wilen Manteli
Presidente ABTP
Argentinean authorities are envisaging the award
in 2013 of the long expected concession of the
new waterway multipurpose terminal of Santa
Fe, an initiative valued in US$160 million, stated
to BNamericas the president of the local Port
Authority, Administrator Entity of the Port of Santa
Fe, Marcelo Vorobiof. “We would be in conditions
to open the call in October or November and this
will allow awarding the contract next year”, stated
Vorobiof.
The 33-year concession contract includes the
construction, maintenance and administration of the
new multipurpose terminal located in the waterway
Paraná-Paraguay. Corresponding funds amounting to
US$15 million and US$25 million will come from the
budget of the province of Santa Fe and the Financial
Fund for Development of La Plata Basin (Fonplata),
respectively, while the private concessionaire
will contribute the remaining US$120 million.
At the same time, the Federal Government will
finance another tender for US$13.5 million for the
construction of a bridge and other roadway works
necessary to guarantee access to the new terminal.
The port of Santa Fe is the last stop for ocean
vessels at the waterway Paraná-Paraguay, which
makes it the “obliged transfer center for cargo to
and from countries located on the waterway”, stated
the governor of the province, Antonio Bonfatti, in a
communication. In this context, the main objective
of the project is transforming the new terminal in a
“regional production pole for north Argentina and
Paraguay and south Brazil”, stated Vorobiof. “After
a while of being in operation, the new terminal may
move 3 million tons of commodities of agriculture
bulk in the first year, plus sub-derivatives such as flour
and oil that must be transported in containers”, he
added. Present infrastructure of the port of Santa Fe
has a capacity to move almost 300,000 tons per year.
Brazil
Port Sector Investment may reach US$22
Billion:

According to information gathered by Folha and
Estado at the Competitive Brazil Forum held in São
Paulo altogether with the Group Estado and the
National Council of Infrastructure (CNI), shortly
before the issuance of the package of port measures
by the president of the republic, on a survey done
by the Brazilian Association of Port Terminals,
ABTP, among 84 associated companies, requested
by the federal government, the Brazilian port sector
may receive investments amounting to R$44 billion
during a five to ten year term. Of the total amount,
R$10 billion are for the containers segment. “This
investment may be even higher depending on the
port reform”, stated the president of ABTP, Wilen
Manteli, who believes that the main problems
encountered by the sector in the country are
regulatory framework and port management. “There
is great political interference and current model does
not function, therefore we expect these problems
are effectively addressed in the package of decisions
that is being announced”, he said. Regarding the
regulatory framework he affirmed it is unstable and
there are excess entities and rules generating juridical
insecurity. He also mentioned that taxes to the sector
are among the problems blocking investments.
“There is great expectation and we hope the federal
government announces the third port reform as the
privatization of port management to unblock these
nodes and the bottlenecks that prevent the port
sector from progressing”, emphasized Mantelli.
The press furthermore emphasized that the
president of ABTP criticized the companhias
docas (port authorities) and characterized this
model as “anachronistic and with a bureaucratic
mentality, preventing the port administrator from
using resources as any private company”. For
Mantelli, the solution would be to adopt public-
private associations (PPA). “This would be the
most adequate instrument where private capital
will predominate; the government would have veto
power in some matters”, added the president of
ABTP. According to the executive, this model would
give assurance to the government and promote a
“private and efficient port administration”.
According to information from the president of
Libra Terminais, Wagner Biasoli, quoted by Valor,
the Libra group will reinforce the integration
between the different business areas (airports,
logistics and ports) in the market of Rio de Janeiro as
of 2013, basically focusing on oil and gas companies
exporting and importing goods and equipment. The
concept is to design logistics solutions with a lower
cost to clients. The plan may consider, provided
its advantages, the use of assets of Libra in Rio,
including the international airport of Cabo Frío,
in the Lagos region, the containers terminal of the
company in the port of Rio and a storage structure
that is being built in the state by Libra Logistics.
Biasoli comments that the business plan of Libra for
2012-2016 foresees growth as of the three vectors.
One of them is the expansion of the terminals of
Rio and Santos, and two dry ports. At Santos, Libra
foresees investing R$550 million to expand the
containers terminal of the company. Another sector
of growth, according to the executive, is tenders for
containers port terminals, new dry ports and airports.
The last point to be considered by Libra is mergers
and acquisitions.
Libra will Reinforce Action in Integrated
Logistics of Rio de Janeiro

The Port of Rotterdam (Holland) expects to enter
into an agreement the beginning of next year with
the group Terminal President Kennedy (TPK). The
agreement includes the creation of the Central Port,
a private deep-water terminal in the state of Espírito
Santo. The investment is expected to amount to
US$2 billion – as informed by Estado and Tribuna.
“This is our current expectation. Europe is already
a mature market. Emerging markets as Brazil
are important in terms of higher growing rates”,
declared Minico Van Hezen, speaker of the Port of
Rotterdam, to the newspaper Estado.
Brasil Económico referred in a special report to Puerto
Maravilla in Rio, which will have investments for
US$3.8 billion through a PPA (Public-Private
Association). One of the contributions focuses
on the project Rio 21st Century that has as main
objective revitalizing facilities, structure and port
services to improve its efficiency, and further
improve and modify maritime, railroad and road
accesses. The report states, in the meantime, that
access works to the port of Rio have now stopped
and that railway and road projects will only start
the beginning of 2013. Total cost of internal works
of the port for the next five years is estimated in
approximately US$500 million and, according to the
state Transportation Sub-secretary of Rio, almost
US$75 million were invested by the Secretary’s
Office of Ports in dredging the port to evacuate
more than four million cubic meters. The companies
Multiterminais and Libra already have their projects
approved to start works. Engineering projects
regarding road access were presented to the federal
government and, according to the Sub-secretary of
Transportation the phase is now in conversations
for its priority within the Growth Acceleration Plan,
PAC. Regarding railway accesses, basic projects are
being discussed with MRS Logística.
“The port has the fourth place in cargo movement
of the country and is the one with the greatest added
value, reaching over US$2,000 per ton, when the
national media is of US$600 per ton”, stated the
Development Secretary of the State, who added:
“We have a long way to grow and I am certain this is
going to happen”.
Port of Rotterdam has partnered in Brazil
US$3.8 Billion in Puerto Maravilla and to
Improve Access to the Port of Rio de Janeiro
TPS Prepares Tender Bases to Extend Terminal
One
Chile

According to El Mercurio of Valparaiso, quoted by
Mundo Marítimo, Terminal Pacífico Sur TPS works
in an essential project for its development: the
extension in 120 meters of Terminal One it has
under concession. The initiative, already approved by
Empresa Portuaria Valparaíso EPV in January of this
year, will allow Terminal Pacífico Sur to extend from
620 to 740 meters its main berthing front (formed
by places 1, 2 and 3) thus being in conditions to
receive and serve simultaneously two ships type post
panamax, vessels that start arriving to national ports
with increasing frequency in reply to the need of the
shipping lines and operators to lower costs through
the so-called economy of scale.
“Ports require adapting their infrastructure,
which implies long and straight docks in order
to be prepared for the larger size vessels and
having an option to receive, at least, two vessels
simultaneously”, informed the general manager of
TPS, Francesco Schiaffino during the annual meeting
held by the company with its clients, collaborators,
workers and suppliers. “We must not forget that a
few years back 3 design vessels of the time fitted
in 620 meters, something impossible today”,
remembered the executive. And it was precisely
based on this last argument that the state, through
EPV, decided to authorize this initiative.
The Project will be developed through a contract
under the EPC (engineering, project and
construction) modality by means of a public tender.
The investment will be approximately US$70
million and besides works at docks, the acquisition
of three new Super Post Panamax cranes is being
considered. This implies that the two oldest ones
will be discarded, from year 2002, which will make
TPS to have in this berthing front 6 last generation
gantry cranes plus 2 Gottwald movable cranes of
100 tons of lift and 50 meters of reach. The initiative
also includes other modernization works as the
structural reinforcement of sites 4 and 5 to make
them antiseismic. Project will possibly be awarded
the beginning of 2013 and detail engineering will
be completed mid-2013. It is expected to have the
approvals by mid-2013 and to begin the execution of
the project approximately said date, to be completed
in 2015. The execution of this project will enable
extending the original concession of TPS from 20 to
30 years and continue operating Terminal 1 of the
Port of Valparaiso until year 2029.
A communication of Sociedad Portuaria Regional de
Barranquilla informed that Southern Cross Group
acquired in mid-November something more than
50% of the shares of this Colombian port located in
the mouth of the Magdalena River, in the Caribbean
Sea.
Sociedad Portuaria Regional de Barranquilla
accomplished in 2011 the highest cargo movement
in the history of the port with 4,257,000 tons (63
percent of the total figure of public use docks of
the port zone of Barranquilla). In total, Sociedad
Portuaria de Barranquilla has an investment plan
for 179 million dollars to be executed more rapidly
by the Southern Cross Group, to expand not only
Southern Cross Group Acquires Share Majority
of Sociedad Portuaria de Barranquilla,
Colombia
Colombia

According to the information of the economic
journal Portafolio, port operator DP World (a
merger of Dubai Ports Authority and Dubai Ports
International) would be the new partner of the Port
of Buenaventura, the most important port of the
country. DP World would pay an amount of almost
150 million dollars to obtain 25 percent of this port
society. Nevertheless Port Society reported that the
purchase of the shares is subject to lift up the right
of preference, process in which they are currently.
The advantage of this negotiation is that the eventual
new operator has all the experience to renew port
practices and management and to manage increasing
cargo volumes. With this transaction, the main
groups of the port society would be: DP World with
25 percent, Harinera del Valle with 24 percent, the
Mayor’s Office of Buenaventura with 15 percent and
Ciamsa (sugar group) with 10 percent.
logistics services but also connectivity to the interior
of the country and the Caribbean.
The head of the Ministry of Transportation
and Public Works of Ecuador, María de los
Ángeles Duarte, stated they will proceed with the
construction of a deep-water port in the region of
Manta, with a public investment estimated in US$106
million, dredging the port to a draft of 16 meters,
among other infrastructure needs. In addition,
Duarte confirmed that the concession process of
the enclosure continues, despite the setback that
meant having declared previous tender void, stated
in a communication of the state port authority,
Autoridad Portuaria de Manta (APM), as informed by
BNAmericas.
In November, APM declared the process void
after announcing that of the nine companies
and consortia that acquired tender specifications,
none presented an offer for the concession. The
concession process for 25 years of US$300 million
was addressed to transforming the port in a deep-
water enclosure and a logistics pole for the bioceanic
corridor Manta-Manaus and to increase capacity to 3
million TEU for the year 2030.
Dubai Ports in Buying Process of 25% of
Buenaventura Port Society:
Concession Process of the Port of Manta will
be Relaunched in Mid-2013
Ecuador

an essential alliance for the transformation of
infrastructure and logistics enabling to promote
the creation of wealth and opportunities for our
people”.
Mundo Marítimo, quoting the magazine Vía Libre
of Spain, informed that the president of Ferrocarrils
de la Generalitat de Catalunya FGC, Enric Ticó, and
the president of the company Corredor Interoceánico
de Guatemala, Santiago Bassols, have signed an
agreement in which both entities agree to find the
way to cooperate and thus FGC will advice the
company CIG in these works. The Guatemalan
company Corredor Interoceánico de Guatemala is now in
the phase of developing this railway project that will
link the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of this Central
American country, and that includes the construction
of two large ports, one on each coast.
Corredor Interoceánico de Guatemala (CIG) is a
completely new railroad. The new line will have a
length of 336 kilometers, joining the two oceans,
Pacific and Atlantic. The destination of this
infrastructure is basically intermodal transportation
According to the President of the Autonomous
Executive Port Commission (CEPA), Alberto Arene,
in interview granted in September to El Heraldo of
Honduras and transcribed by Mundo Marítimo, “we
hope that between March and April 2013 the bidding
process is opened, therefore we expect that in
September winner will be known and in December
the new operator assumes the destiny of the Port of
La Unión”. As set forth by the executive, the Port
of La Unión was conceived to be the port of the
Central American Union and particularly to meet
port demands of Honduras and El Salvador. “El
Salvador will have Puerto Cortés in the Atlantic, and
furthermore, Honduras will have Central American
La Unión in the Pacific to be used to generate wealth
and opportunities for the benefit of both countries”,
said Arene.
For the president of CEPA, “modernization of
infrastructure and logistics in Central America is one
of the fundamental conditions for our countries to
advance towards a more productive and exporting
development model, inserted in the best conditions
of global economy. In this framework we see that
the concession of Puerto Cortés in Honduras and
the port of La Unión in El Salvador constitute
Tender will be Opened the First Semester of
2013 for Port of La Unión
Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya will
Assist in the Construction of the Interoceanic
Corridor of Guatemala
El Salvador
Guatemala

Containers Operation will be granted in
February for Puerto Cortés
Megaport Project in Punta Colonet Cancelled
of containers. But the project also includes the
construction of a new four-lane road, and a
pipeline. This would form a global transportation
axis that would be an alternative to the only existing
interoceanic, great capacity axis at present, the
Panama Canal. This transportation corridor will
include the creation of new industrial areas along its
route and the construction of the aforementioned
port complexes on its opposite maritime ends.
This project is covered by the modality of public-
private association. The public part is represented by
municipalities and local governments. The private
promoter of the project is represented by Odepal
Internacional, a Guatemalan company that has
been working in this initiative since 1998. To date,
prefeasibility, market, environmental and social order
studies have been done, still pending the purchase of
land where will pass both the railway and the road
and pipeline.
FGC may advice both in the works of design,
project, construction and management of railway
infrastructures, and also the mobile material for the
service of travelers and that of merchandises; the
design and evaluation of the service for travelers in
the railroad line associated to the Corridor and the
evaluation of company potentials, among others.
The agreement, of two years duration, establishes
that FGC will be considered as priority adviser
for the development of works of the interoceanic
railway corridor.
According to El Heraldo, quoted by Mundo Marítimo,
the president of Coalianza, Carlos Pineda, informed
that the most important infrastructure operation of
Honduras, Puerto Cortés, will start relocating to the
hands of foreign companies as of February 1, 2013,
within the concession process of the containers
dock, where 70% of logistics operations of the
port develop, and the grain dock where 90% of the
food and raw materials consumed in the country
enter. The officer expressed that in the case of the
containers dock process, tender specifications were
already acquired by some 20 companies, among
which are 10 of the main firms of the international
market. The idea is the coexistence of two port
operators, the main logistics asset of the country in
the Atlantic Coast that will compete to provide the
best tariffs and services. On the other hand, he stated
the tender was already opened to award construction
of the grain terminal and is expected to be awarded
by mid-March 2013.
Honduras
Mexico

The outgoing Federal Government finally cancelled
the last day of its administration, the concourse for
the development of a port and railway connecting
said port in Baja California with the United States,
informed Mundo Marítimo. Cancellation of the so-
called “megaproject port” of the six-year term of
Felipe Calderón, results after the financial problems
that affected the world, the expectations of
international trade growth, which sensibly affected
cargo volume forecasts on which was based the
execution of the port project. Besides, the high
private investment costs foreseen and the increase
in interest rates, altogether with the complexity
to select the point for the railway crossing at the
border of the United States of America, endangered
the profitability of the railway project, and thus
generated doubts among private economic agents on
the viability of the project as a whole.
The document that terminates this project disclosed
that last July 31, 2012 the General Planning Direction
retained KPMG Cárdenas Dosal, S.C. to undertake a
“Study to determine the economic-financial viability
of the multimodal project of Punta Colonet”,
which results were submitted last October 22nd.
This study confirms that “the installed capacity of
port and railroad terminals of the West Coast of
North America does not show now saturation and
congestion levels shown in 2008 and previous years,
containers market in the trans-Pacific route will show
one-digit growth rates in the years to come, besides
actors of the containers transportation market that
were consulted did not express a special interest
and in particular did not seem to show an appetite
to invest in a project of the scale of Punta Colonet.
Under the assumptions established in the study, the
project is not economically viable, except if there is a
contribution of repayable capital of public resources,
thus it is determined that assumptions prevailing
in 2008 are not valid today, and there are no signs
enabling to define there will be in the following
years”, was confirmed by the opinions of the
technical areas of this Secretary’s Office.
In this respect, the new head of the Secretary’s
Office of Communications and Transportation
(SCT), Gerardo Ruiz, stated that the port of
Guaymas may become a very good substitute to
the aborted flagship project of the administration
of former president Calderón. During its first
press conference, the officer considered the Port
of Guaymas as the perfect project to substitute the
megaproject of Colonet, not only to help the ports
of California in the reception of goods, but rather
to be a great port for the transportation of Mexican
goods south and north of the United States, through
Arizona.
Monopolies at Ports?

Article of T21 informs that with the award to
the company SSAMéxico of the Specialized
Vehicle Terminal (TEA) of the port of Lázaro
Cárdenas, present port authorities contradict in their
antimonopoly discourse, which they say guides them
to proceed. And the case is that with this assignment,
SSAMéxico will add up to 90% of its capacity in the
Mexican Pacific coast regarding vehicle movement,
in addition to that already controlling 60% of the
market of the Gulf of Mexico.
Returning to the discourse of the port authorities,
these state they are protecting the interests of
the user and country competitiveness, but in the
containers operation of the Pacific coast, the only
real competition is International Container Terminal
Services (ICTSI), the Philippine company that next
May will start operations at the Port of Manzanillo.
On the other hand, containers terminal II of
the Port of Lázaro Cárdenas does not meet the
conditions to be a real competition as this will be a
terminal vertically integrated to a shipping company
(Maersk). If antimonopoly practices are studied
somewhat more than more developed countries in
the matter (European Union and American Union),
more than a dominance of a market segment,
penalizes vertical integration. Who will operate
Maersk terminal when it is in operation?, well
the ships of this shipping line, and service will be
exclusively provided to their cargo and shipping lines
with which they have alliances, and only for cargoes
on board their ships.
Traditionally, shipping companies are not interested
in operating in a terminal owned by its competitors.
Obviously, each is jealous of the information of its
clients and safeguards it from falling in the hands of
their competitors, in order not to expose them to
the theft of its clients. This is the main motivation
for shipping companies not operating in terminals
controlled by the competition.
The President of the Republic, Commander
Daniel Ortega, informed that the Government has
signed a memorandum of understanding with a
company incorporated in Hong Kong, China, for
the construction of the Great Interoceanic Canal
through Nicaragua, informed Mundo Marítimo
quoting El Pueblo Presidente. “I wish to inform
the people of Nicaragua, the Nicaraguan families,
that this afternoon was signed a memorandum
of understanding where the State of Nicaragua,
through its representative, the president of the Canal
Authority, authorizes the company HK-Nicaragua
to structure, undertake procedures for financing
the project of the great interoceanic canal of
Nicaragua”, stated the president during a meeting
Government Signs with HK of China a
Memorandum to Build a Great Interoceanic
Channel
Nicaragua

held with Wan Jin, president of Xinwei, the largest
telecommunications company of China.
Ortega stated that at present studies are being
developed by Dutch specialists, which will be
considered for the works to be developed by Chinese
entrepreneurs. He explained that the Chinese
company, called Company of Investment for the
Development of the Great Canal of Nicaragua,
will work in the development both of the wet canal
as the dry canal, which will also join the Pacific
Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean from Monkey
Point to Puerto Corinto. Works have been studied,
he assured, taking into account the reality of the
economy, trade and transportation worldwide.
Likewise, he remembered this construction will have
the most advanced technology that may presently
exist in our planet. The president indicated that the
dream of an interoceanic canal through the country
goes back as far as 500 years, when the Spaniards
conquered the country and started looking for
a passage between the two oceans, and thus the
disputes and cravings for the domain of Nicaragua.
Regarding forecasts of the Xinwei Company to
invest in Nicaragua in telecommunications, Ortega
explained being essential for the rural area to bring
them this benefit as here are located the large
production forces of the country.
On the other hand, the president of the Xinwei
Company, Wan Jin, informed that in fact a new
company has been incorporated in China with the
purpose of developing the canal through Nicaragua,
which includes programming, capital construction
and project management. “We are confident of a
successful construction of this Nicaraguan canal”,
assured Wan Jin, who explained that other investors
have visited the country and are willing to bring
technology and capital for the construction of the
canal, but have wanted to exchange the freedom of
the Nicaraguan people and then the dignity of the
people has not enabled that the project be developed
in these conditions. The entrepreneur stated that the
geographic position of Nicaragua is very important
for the construction of the interoceanic canal, and if
it were to be built this will change the history of the
world and the history of world trade. “As of today,
this 500-year dream will be developed”, stated Wan
Jin.
The Project dreamt by Nicaragua of having a
deep-water port is stagnant, as according to the
newspaper La Prensa, quoted by Mundo Marítimo,
the Brazilian company Andrade Gutiérrez would
have given up building the Port of Monkey Point,
in the Autonomous Region of the South Atlantic
(RAAS). Laureano Ortega, son of the president of
the republic and investment counselor of the agency
ProNicaragua, confirmed this megaport will not
be developed by the Brazilian company. “Not with
Andrade Gutiérrez, but with other companies, yes”,
stated Ortega, who explained that the agreement
of intention entered into between the Government
and Andrade Gutiérrez has expired, thus the
feasibility studies of Port Monkey Point belong
to the Government. Documents are now used to
Puerto Monkey Point Project in Nicaragua is
Stagnant by Withdrawal of Brazil

offer the works to other investors, but will undergo
modifications in its design.
Through an electronic mail, representatives
of Andrade Gutiérrez AG limited to say that
“Constructor Andrade Gutiérrez (AG) delivered
all studies of the Port of Monkey Point to its
counterpart in the Government that is the National
Port Company (EPN). Because of confidentiality
matters, AG may not pronounce itself on the
matter”. It was confirmed that the company did
close its offices in the country. AG stated that
the operations in Nicaragua are managed by the
office in Dominican Republic. The main reason to
discontinue the project is that the pre-feasibility and
feasibility studies showed that construction cost is
higher than the initially foreseen amount of 300
million dollars, but does not guarantee a return for
the millionaire investment, as the volume of goods
to be moved through the port would not be enough,
a situation recognized by Laureano Ortega: “Their
reasons are they need a greater flow of ships that
may berth at the port of Monkey Point and thus we
are now working to interest shipping companies that
may provide more feasibility to the project”.
ProNicaragua started searching new investors that
may be interested in the port of Monkey Point and
thus prevent losing one of the flagship projects of
the Government that is part of the National Plan of
Development. Works are supposedly necessary as it
would imply savings of one hundred million dollars
per year in costs of cargo currently incurred by the
country when transporting goods through the ports
of Honduras and Costa Rica. “We are working with
a Spanish company that is investing in the project,
seeing it from the logic of a dry canal, making a
railroad corridor from Monkey Point to Corinto (in
Chinandega), which is another dimension of the
project and makes it more feasible”, stated Ortega.
Change of design is required – he justified – as the
“port in itself is less attractive than building a dry
canal”. “Logically, having only one port is not the
same opportunity of being able to transfer goods
from the Caribbean to the Pacific”, he affirms.
According to El Panamá América, the Atlantic sector
of the country has become the most coveted area for
the construction and expansion of port terminals,
with investments of more than one billion dollars.
The increase of containers cargo that will generate
the post panamax ships after finalizing the project
of the extension of the Panama Canal is the main
reason for investors to see in Colon the best place to
expand their operations. The free zone of Margarita
Island has become a new pole for port development.
Here, the company Panama Canal Colon Port is
developing a new port with an investment of more
than 600 million dollars. “The containers terminal
will have three docks and generate 3,000 indirect
jobs and approximately 1,500 permanent jobs once
operations start”, stated the Vice-minister of Foreign
Trade, José Pacheco.
Investments for More than One Billion Dollars
in Colon
Panamá

Besides, corporation United Crown Construction
Inc. will develop the Project Logistic Park (containers
yard) at Margarita Island, its concession contract
approved by the Council of the Cabinet. In
development of the project more than 105 million
dollars will be invested, which will generate 800
jobs in the construction phase and more than 1,200
in the operations phase. According to the legal
adviser of the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP),
Carlota Matos, the concession will have an area of
54 hectares for a period of 20 years. Matos states
that this containers yard may provide services to the
new port once it is completed and to others located
around. “I consider it is a good project for the States
and above all because capital is foreign investment,
which will bring benefits to the same province of
Colon and will generate jobs, which is very positive”,
stated Matos. It is expected that the containers yard
enter in operation in 2014, as well as the port. “The
idea is that ports will receive larger ships with greater
container capacity, and this project will greatly ease
storage capacity and will benefit port operators”,
stated Matos.
“Definitively, investment in the logistics sector is
important”, stated the president of the Maritime
Chamber of Panama, Willys Delvalle. He informed
having knowledge that the Port of Manzanillo
International Terminal (MIT) will start an investment
of more than 200 million dollars, that is “we are
going to have an extended terminal and a new one,
which will provide a greater capacity to the Atlantic
system”. However, he stated that the Pacific sector
only has one container terminal with considerable
capacity. According to Delvalle there is evidence that
Panama International Terminal (PSA) is interested
in expanding its terminal and “yet expects to
develop the terminal of Corozal, which would be
very positive, and in the future there could be other
investments on the Pacific side. He stated that the
expectations are based on once the extension of the
new interoceanic canal is completed enabling transit
of larger ships, with greater capacity to transport
containers.
T21 of Mexico, quoted by Mundo Marítimo, informed
that in addition to the extension of the Panama
Canal, which is foreseen to be completed the
end of 2014, the Panamanian President Ricardo
Martinelli anticipated the arrival of new projects
that will contribute to the growth of the logistics
infrastructure of this country. During the opening of
Expo Logistics Panama, he emphasized that in order
for a greater integration of the logistics industry to
the Panama Canal, negotiations are being done for
the construction of a new port in the area of Colon
and another in Balboa. Thus, the President of the
country declared: “The Panama Canal is about to
approve in an area close to the port of Balboa, the
purchase to the State of 45 hectares to operate and
build a port in the area of Corozal; likewise, there
is interest of other companies on the Pacific for
the construction of more ports. Port infrastructure
will substantially increase”. Corozal is located
about five kilometers north of the port of Balboa
(Pacific), near Hutchinson on the east bank of the
interoceanic canal.
Presidente Anuncia Construcción de Puerto
Corozal en el Pacífico

Latinports Newsletter September-December 2012

Latinports Newsletter September-December 2012

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Latinports Newsletter September-December 2012

Similar to Latinports Newsletter September-December 2012 (20)

More from latinports

More from latinports (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Latinports Newsletter September-December 2012