Maersk Could Pay $43 million for Puerto Quetzal

Maersk Group subsidiary have agreed to indemnify the state $43 million and sign a new concession contract in order to operate the Quetzal Container Terminal.

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

The agreement suggested by the auditor of the Quetzal Container Terminal (TCQ by its initials in Spanish), Alexander Aizenstatd, must be approved by the Guatemalan Congress.

The terminal was taken over, in early June, after the Public Ministry revealed the existence of indications that the terminal was operating an illegal network for laundering money and other assets.

Elperiodico.com.gt reports that "...In a statement released on Monday, Susanne Marston, vice president of APM Terminals, part of the Maersk Group, accepted the proposal that will allow for operation of the TCQ, and which includes the payment of civil damages to the State of Guatemala for $43.2 million as well as the signing of a new concession contract approved by Congress. "

As part of the agreement, the company will also commit to setting up a container control system using X-ray machines, with an investment of more than $6 million.

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More on this topic

Agreement to Operate Puerto Quetzal

September 2016

Compensation of $43 million to the State and a concession for 21 years for APM Terminals are part of the agreement made with the foreign company for it to operate the container terminal.

According to an article on Publinews, Anabella Morfin, Attorney General of the Nation, explained that   "...APM and EPQ pledged to desist with the courts with their efforts to obtain a declaration of voiding due to incompetence, in order to streamline the operation of TCQ. "

Quetzal Container Terminal to Start Operations Soon

August 2016

Following the authorization granted to TCQ by the Superintendency of Tax Administration to function as a temporary customs warehouse, its entry into operations for October has been announced.

An article in Prensalibre.com reports that   "...The auditor of the TCQ, Alexander Aizenstatd said that with the authorization published in Diario de Centro América on Friday, an intermediate stage has started where there a link is formed with the authorities of the SAT, in order to subsequently ask for the entry into operation. 'Closer ties have now been made with the National Port Commission for certification and following this a certification will be requested for the Marina. The plan is for the TCQ to be operational at the end of September, or beginning of October. ' "

Maersk to Invest $80 million in Puerto Quetzal

July 2016

Maersk Group has announced that once it signs the new concession contract it plans to expand the capacity of the container terminal in order to go from transporting 250,000 TEUs to 600,000 TEUs.

Susanne Marston, representative of APM Terminals, told Diario de Centroamerica that among the company's plans is improving conditions at the terminal, investing $80 million in expanding capacity for container management.

Maersk Group could be the Concessionaire of Puerto Quetzal

April 2016

The acquisition of TCB by APM Terminals means that any dispute concerning the granting of Puerto Quetzal will involve the largest group in the world in the maritime sector, the Maersk shipping company.

Following the Public Ministry's denouncement of the existence of an illicit money laundering network operating in the Container Terminal at Quetzal , the government of Jimmy Morales is torn between declaring void the concession contract with the current operator, TCB, as recommended by the Attorney General's Office on several occasions, or making other arrangements with the company. The Morales government may have to negotiate with the Danish giant Maersk Group, which bought 100% of the shares of the Spanish TCB in October 2015, according to an article on Elperiodico.com.gt.

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