He Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced an investment of 103 million dollars to expand the Port of Montevideo and promote the foreign trade of Uruguay.
This is financing Cuenca del Plata Terminal (TCP) through IDB Invest, which also includes the mobilization of resources for 46 million dollars from the BBVA for the design, construction and operation of the expansion of the Port of Montevideo.
Likewise, and as the international organization officially announced through its website, this operation will be complemented with a ease of financing granted by the export credit agency of Belgium, Credendo, to commercial banks. The approximate additional amount will be 340 million dollars.
In this way, the port expansion project will include a total estimated investment more than 500 million dollars. It will allow more than doubling the current international cargo volume of the main Uruguayan port, as well as improving the efficiency of the most important container terminal in the country.
According to the IDB, this initiative will boost the Uruguayan economy, “improving competitiveness of foreign trade, generating quality employment and positioning Uruguay as a regional logistics player.”
What does the expansion project contemplate?
In the statement, the IDB also detailed what, in general terms, will be the tasks to be carried out in TCP. Among them, the construction of a second pier, designed to receive more vessels of greater draft than currently available; and from one container beach to be able to efficiently operate the increase in the number of containers received and in transit.
In return, TPC committed to an ambitious environmental and social action plan which includes improvements in the management of environmental, social, labor, and occupational health and safety risks and impacts. In addition, they must optimize efficiency in the use of resources and pollution prevention.
According to the international credit organization, the investment agreement will contribute to compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), particularly SDG 5—Gender Equality—; 8 —Decent work and economic growth—; 9 —Industry, innovation and infrastructure—; 13 —Climate action—; and 17 —Partnerships for the objectives.
In addition, it also highlights that neighboring countries will benefit in parallel from the expansion and improvement in the competitiveness of the Port of Montevideo.
The ANP had record movements and income
The National Ports Administration (ANP) had a record 2023 in both container movement in the Port of Montevideo as in billing income. For the president of the organization, Juan Curbelo, “it is very important to have achieved this objective” within the framework of the strategy of turning the country into a hub port region of. A goal for which the investment of IDB is completely aligned.
The news of the new container movement record in the Port of Montevideo —1,200,000 teus, the size of a simple container— is an important achievement in port and logistics terms for the country. “There have been three consecutive years of teus growth,” Curbelo highlighted in conversation with Radio Carve: in 2021, the largest movement in the history of the company was achieved for the first time. ANP with 970,000 teus; In 2022, the historical barrier of one million teus was surpassed, and 2023 marked the new record.
“We rely a lot on transits, and this is very relevant because that is where the services that our ports provide, the productivity and efficiency, because that cargo is cargo from the region, from third countries that can perfectly use other ports,” explained the head of the ANP.
Source: Ambito
