INVESTMENT PROJECT
Last week, Katoen Natie and the Uruguayan Government reached an agreement for a new additional investment in the Port of Montevideo. This investment project represents the maximum expansion of the concession area, including the construction of a second container yard of approximately 22 hectares in addition to the existing area, and a second quay wall of 700 mts long, dredged to fourteen meters in depth. At the two quay walls, together 1,300 meters, the company will be able to handle four container ships simultaneously, with in time 12 to 15 ultramodern ship-to-shore gantry cranes and 50 straddle carriers (and / or rubber tyred gantry cranes). The new container terminal will have the capacity to load and unload more than 2.5 million TEU per year.
The execution of the project will begin immediately and will create many direct and indirect employment opportunities.
After the project is completed, the Port of Montevideo will have a ”state-of-the-art” Specialized Container Terminal, which will more than double its annual capacity and will allow TCP to operate the last generation of container vessels (400m).
This capacity increase and the concentration of container operations shall improve operational efficiency and reduce container costs, which will place Montevideo in a privileged position on the trade lanes of transit and transshipment containerized cargo.
This new agreement allows Katoen Natie to make – for the second time – the biggest investment in the history of the Port of Montevideo, and will be the driving force for Uruguay to strengthen the strategic position of its main regional port terminal as a supplier of efficient port services, making it a reference for the port system of the Southern Cone of South America.
“Terminal Cuenca del Plata is already the most efficient container terminal in South America, but with this new investment we are now positioning the terminal as an indispensable link in the list of the most important hub ports in the continent, and, at the same time, making the terminal more attractive for Uruguayan exporters”, explains Vincent Vandecauter, CEO of TCP.
“This enormous commitment confirms our trust in Uruguay as an investment country and one-of–the-places-to-be, and in the Port of Montevideo as an excellent logistics hub”, says Karl Huts, director of Katoen Natie Group.
KATOEN NATIE AND ORIENTAL REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY
Katoen Natie and the Oriental Republic of Uruguay met for the first time in the year 1996, when Katoen Natie first invested in Uruguay, purchasing part of the shares of Zonamerica. Since the very beginning, Katoen Natie was most confident in the success of offering logistics services through the Free Trade Zone system, and soon after decided to also invest in Costa Oriental. The following years confirmed to Katoen Natie that its trust in the potential and stability of Uruguay was well founded, and this was the basis for strategic decisions and more ambitious projects, which prompted Katoen Natie to make a strong commitment towards the country and its future.
In 2001 Katoen Natie participated in the auction of the shares of Terminal Cuenca del Plata S.A, to manage and operate the Specialized Container Terminal in the Port of Montevideo, and, having made the highest offer, it became owner of 80% of the company’s shares. This was the beginning of a very important partnership with the Uruguayan Government to transform the Port of Montevideo in the most important regional container hub for the port ecosystem of the Southern Cone.
During the first 20 years of the concession term, over USD 250 million was invested to make TCP the most modern terminal in the region. During this period, the extension of the main quay wall, the expansion of the container yard, the acquisition of 7 gantry cranes, 48 straddle carriers, and a strong investment in next generation technology, resulted in the offering of high-quality services to our customers, and in the best productivity in the region.
From 2012 onward, Katoen Natie also developed the Polo Oeste logistics park in collaboration with local partner Frigorífico Modelo SA, where together they have developed 10 hectares as warehouse space and the most advanced logistics hub for the region.
Katoen Natie would like to express its great satisfaction with this agreement, which will be the pillar and starting point to definitively put Terminal Cuenca del Plata on the map as the most modern container Terminal in the region.
