The expansion works of the Cuenca del Plata Terminal (TCP) of the Port of Montevideo They continue advancing and this time it is the stage of drilling and blasting rock from the seabed; For this, the company in charge of the work brought the Uruguay the largest cutter dredge in the world.
The prestigious Belgian company, Jan De Nul, which has a history of carrying out several renowned projects such as an artificial island in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is in charge of dredging the Cuenca del Plata Terminal.
Starting last Friday, the company in charge of dredging brought the largest cutter dredge in the world to Uruguay to work on dredging the port. The machinery is named after “Willem Van Rubroeck” and is accompanied by two other support vessels: “Trinity” and “Leeuw” and two more dredges: “Postnik Yakolev” and “Ortelius”.
This machinery was designed to work on very hard soils, in this case that of Montevideo and has a length of 151.3 meters and a width of 36 meters.
A substantial improvement for the Port of Montevideo
With dredging to 14 meters approved by the Argentine government at the end of January, the Port of Montevideo may receive containers of TCP/Katoen Natie of ships measuring around 400 meters long, 61 meters wide and with drafts of up to 13.8 metres. According to reports, these ships allow containers of up to 24,000 TEUS to be loaded, vessels that until today cannot be accessed.
Along these lines, the works to expand the Cuenca del Plata Terminal (TCP), with drilling and blasting of rock from the seabed, as anticipated from the National Ports Administration (ANP). Thanks to the tasks, the port reclaimed a total of 28 hectares from the sea, while by 2025 another 23 hectares are expected to advance, totaling 51.
At the same time, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) weeks ago announced an investment of 103 million dollars to advance the expansion of the port, with the aim of giving a boost to foreign trade.
The keys to the project
The expansion of the TCP The estimated duration of the work is two and a half years and, once completed at the beginning of 2026, the port of the capital will operate approximately 3 million containers, capacity similar to that of Buenos Aires, one of its main competitors.
The expansion will consist of 3 large sectors. The first has to do with an investment for a new structure of 22 additional hectares to the sea, with a second dock and container yard and operational building. This will allow them to operate up to four ships in unison, including the largest freighters in the world, which will facilitate a time optimization and that better service is provided.
The new dock will be called “West Dock”, it will be located on the western limit of the concession area and occupies 58.5 hectares. On the other hand, it will require dredging 17 meters deep and will have an extension of 730 meters
Secondly, the acquisition of technology with gantry cranes and rolling equipment was proposed. This coincides with one of the objectives in Montevideo is to achieve the establishment of a green port for 2030, with eco-efficient machines, 100% electric cranes, electrical connection for ships in port to reduce greenhouse gases and reduce the carbon footprint. Finally, the renovation of the current infrastructure and its accesses will be carried out.
Source: Ambito
