The current port is saturated, so the new five terminals will allow it to triple its capacity in addition to that it will benefit with jobs and improvements in the transport service.
Despite the insecurity environment that the entity lives, 70,000 million pesos are invested in the new port, which will allow it to have three times the old capacity by incorporating five specialized terminals by 2019.
The complex under construction, which will be in Bahía de Vergara, north of the current one, will allow the arrival of bigger ships, greater efficiencies in the embarkation and disembarkation of goods and more competitive transfers in rail and auto transport, assured in an interview with El Financiero, Ignacio Fernández, general director of the Integral Port Administration of Veracruz.
"These works will make the port more efficient, that will impact costs, it will be more competitive because it will have options being an integral development, not only on the water side, we speak of a very large customs house, railroad and a highway bypasses. Additionally, there will be improvements in embarkation and unloading maneuvers. Costs can easily be reduced 10 to 14 percent, "said Fernandez.
The Port of Veracruz is the main entrance of goods imported for the domestic market and is the exit of 60 percent of the finished vehicles.
However, it is already saturated and cannot accommodate the larger ships.
–– How is the development work progressing?
–– In the first stage, we will construct a breakwater and perform dredging so that the bigger ships of 400 meters of length (long) can berth.
There will be five terminals, the containers where land is already being conditioned: one for fluids, one of agricultural bulk, another for mineral bulk and another one for multiple uses, all should be ready in early 2019.
The container terminal will receive the first ship in June 2018, when the new port will partially operate. That terminal is being built by Hutchison Ports with at 9 billion pesos cost.
–– How is the bid progressing?
–– 10 days ago, we received proposals for the remaining four terminals, seven for fluids, seven for agricultural bulk, six for multipurpose (for all types of cargo moves) and three for mineral bulk.
Delivery of the performance bond follows and, in about 30 days, the technical proposals will be presented all allowing us to make the proper assessments and awards granted in the first week of June thus allowing time to the winners to build the terminals.
–– What will the second stage consist of?
–– This port will grow and quadruple its total capacity to more than 90 million operating tons, which will require another breakwater of similar sizing and will create space for additional six or seven new terminals.
–– Why a new port?
–– We are becoming obsolete, we cannot receive the largest ships and now with the expansion of the Panama Canal the situation became more important, it's a project that was worked upon for many years but it only crystalized in 2013.
Does it benefit competitiveness?
–– The Port of Veracruz handles one third of Mexico's port capacity. Both, water and land operations will be improved, there will be 19.5-kilometers of rail bypass, of which 15 are already finished. Both, Kansas City and Ferrosur will have access and compete.
Additionally, the road system will benefit as we expect the new site to triple the tons that are interchanged between Mexican ports at Veracruz (cabotage) by 2020, thus diminishing the load on the road system.
–– How will the city benefit the port?
–– The port city will benefit from employment and improvements in transportation services. 30 percent of the cargo bound to the center and north of the country arrive here.
The port employs 11 thousand workers directly, and 40 thousand more, indirectly; The New Port will employ 40 thousand workers and additional 100 thousand indirect workers.
–– Does insecurity affect you?
–– Not at all. We inspect 100 percent of the goods with x-rays and gamma-rays, we do not have internal theft and we do not move illegal cargo.
Regardless of the city problems, in the first two months of this year we processed 28 percent more cargo.
This port will probably be the largest in Latin America and will located within the 10 largest in the continent.