He Montevideo port was one of the worst rated in efficiency and competitiveness worldwide, according to the Container Port Performance Index (CPPI)for its acronym in English), which located Uruguay in position 304, out of a total of 348 ports.
Investments in the port of Montevideo have been announced with great fanfare on multiple occasions: works by the Cuenca del Plata Terminal (TCP) for the expansion of the specialized container terminal; works for the fishing terminal in Puerto Capurro; works in the Montevideo Bulk Terminal (TGM) to improve the movement of bulk in the region. The list goes on, including a specialized pulp terminal from the company upm. However, and while many of these investments have not yet materialized, the image of the port of Montevideo continues to decline.
This was observed from the results of the CPPI, a study carried out by the world Bank and whose third edition made it clear that Montevideo, compared to other ports in the region and in the world, still has a lot to improve in terms of efficiency and competitiveness.
This is so since, out of a total of 348 surveyed ports, the one in the Uruguayan capital remained 304; that is, among the 50 worst in the world, and behind its main competitors: Argentina Brazil and Chili. In addition, fell 39 places in its 2022 performance compared to the 2021 index.
Although this last edition incorporated 14 new participants, the number of places lost in the global ranking is significant. In addition, 101 ports considered in the CPPI improved their classification from one year to the next.
The Index prepared by the World Bank together with the Standard & Poor’s Global Market Intelligence Unit seeks to compare ports worldwide according to their efficiency, “measured by the time elapsed since a ship arrives at the port, until it leaves the berth after having completed its cargo exchange.”
The criticism from the export sector Uruguayan to the port of Montevideo has been recurring in recent months as they affirm that the country today does not have a competitive port in the region.
The performance of ports in the region
Although Uruguay was last among the countries of Latin America, its main competitors had a significantly better average performance. Thus, for example, the port of Rio Grande in Brazil it was ranked among the 50 best in the world and was one of those that rose the most positions compared to the previous ranking: went from position 91 to 50, rising 41 places.
The port of Buenos Aires, For its part, it was located in the position 174 worldwide -130 steps ahead of Uruguay’s-, although it fell 50 places compared to the performance it had in 2021, when it was ranked 124th.
The one that had a score similar to that of Uruguay was the port of Saint Anthony in Chile, which was ranked 253, 51 places behind Montevideo. However, the Chilean port had a significant improvement from one year to the next, going from location 320 in 2021 to 253 in 2022, a rise of 67 places.
Globally, the Chinese port of Shanghai it reached first place in the classification, despite the multiple problems that the Asian giant had to face during 2022 that hindered port operations.
In addition to Shanghai, three ports in the Middle East and North Africa finished among the best: Salalah (Oman), the port of Khalifa (Abu Dhabi) and Tanger Med (Morocco). Fifth place was occupied by the port of Cartagena Colombia, the only country of South America who managed to rank among the best.
Source: Ambito
