Puerto Cortés Enlargement and Modernization Program
Puerto Cortés, situated on the Atlantic Ocean, is deemed the most important port of Central America. This port is characterized by the sea transportation of merchandise to and from the east coast of the United States, and to Europe and the Middle East. Besides, Puerto Cortés is one of the three ports in Latin America that has obtained the CSI Certification (Containers Security Initiative). It is the only one in the region that has the required devices and equipment to detect radioactive material, which is the reason why it has been classified as a "mega port". A U.S. Customs office operates in its facilities, and therefore, most of the cargo does not have to follow additional procedures when arriving at the different ports in that country.
Puerto Cortés provides 24-hour services without waiting time and has modern roll on/roll off and refrigeration facilities. In addition to its strategic geographic position, only 72 hours away from the United States, it has a modern weekly service of container ships to the main ports in Miami, New Orleans and New York, as well as to Europe and the Far East. It has five berths; three of them are marginal wharfs, and two have 45 Ton STS cranes specialized in container movement.
It has two penetration wharfs; one is used as the oil terminal and the other to handle other liquid bulks. The port is directly managed by the Empresa Nacional Portuaria (ENP) which manages all the port services and sets the rates, among other things.
In the last years, Puerto Cortés has developed under the concept of regional hub. According to recent studies, said port has a strong potential for development of strategic functions such as:
- Land distribution center for domestic and regional destinations.
- Just-In-Time (JIT) distribution center for the U.S. southeast.
- International trade and traffic center.
- Horto-fruit cultural Hub from Central America to other geographic zones.
In order to perform these functions associated with a logistic zone, the ENP has lots adjacent to the present Free Zone and land which is not presently used for port-related activities. The development of Puerto Cortés as a logistic hub adds high competitive value. However, in order to achieve this purpose, in addition to the land, it is necessary to have specialized facilities that meet the required international standards for this port concept.
The main objective of the Enlargement and Modernization Program of Puerto Cortés is to improve the capacity and efficiency of the port operations through a public-private partnership to take a quantitative and qualitative step forward in terms of the regional capacity and projection of said port. The execution of this project has the financial support of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI). The estimated amount for the execution of this program is US$ 304,236,000.
At present, Puerto Cortés handles a volume of 538,853 20-foot containers, but has deficiencies in view of the characteristics of the foreyards of the existing wharfs that condition the efficiency of the cargo loading and unloading operations due to lack of equipment.
Furthermore, the average occupation rate of the berths intended for this cargo was reached in 2008 at 59%, close to the international critical level (70%), which requires the implementation of a process for the construction of specialized terminals starting with coast dredging, filling and protection works and building two 14 meter deep berths, which will provide access to Panamax and Post-Panamax vessels that require a draft of more than 12 meters.1
Regarding the new container terminal, it will require a wharf with an extension of 485 linear meters to serve simultaneously a Post-Panamax vessel and a Feeder, four Post-Panamax cranes and land support equipment, to allow the potential mobilization of a volume of 347,000 units equivalent to six hundred and sixty three thousand (663,000) TEUs. Without any doubt, it will meet the users’ expectations in terms of port service quality, reliability and safety.