The government has rejected the environmental study run by the Martinelli administration for the construction of the terminal and has put the project on hold.
The multipurpose wharf project Puerto Verde Panama Atlantico, which involved the sale of Isla Largo Remo and the construction of a mega terminal for handling containers from super post panamax ships, has been canceled.
Companies interested in developing and operating the new Panamanian port will face stiff competition from Panama Ports Company, which has already prepared a plan and requested to receive the concession directly.
The operator of the ports of Balboa and Cristobal, which has repeatedly expressed opposition to the idea of building a container terminal in Corozal, now wants to be its developer and operator, and it has now submitted a proposal to the Panama Canal Authority to receive a direct concession of the land located in the area.
Panama Canal Railway Company plans to invest $75 million once the concession of the port is approved, which is still waiting for legislation to grant the concessionaire the same tax benefits that other port operators receive.
An article on Thebulletinpanama.com reports that the operator of the Interoceanic train (PCRC) "... invested about $80 million in renovation and modernization in order to make initial annual capacity 400,000 containers.
With the plans to build a highway between the Pacific and the Caribbean coast in mind, a proposal has been made to build a port in Bluefields, instead of the one planned in Monkey Point.
The Nicaraguan government announced that it has asked Taiwan to collaborate in order to finalize the project, and that the decision to change the location responds to the new road that will connect the Pacific and the Caribbean, precisely with the city of Bluefields.
A proposal has been made to develop a specialized Roll on-Roll off cargo terminal in the Pacific, to improve the management of vehicles and heavy equipment and create other opportunities for the automotive industry, such as automobile accessorization.
The proposal put forward by the Panama Canal Authority is to develop a specialized docking area for roll on- roll off ships, transporting vehicles to Panama, from where they are distributed to other markets. The aim is to promote the development of this type of cargo in Panama and lay the foundation for the development of other business lines that generate added value and chains. One of the activities that can be developed is dedicated to adding value to vehicles, called "accessorization".
In Costa Rica an order has been given to start work no later than January 19, and according to APM Terminals, they will start with construction of the breakwater and dredging of the access channel.
According to the instructions given by the National Tender Board, the construction of a port terminal in Moin should be starting in exactly one month. In order to get started with the first works, 600 workers will need to be hired.
The Environmental Technical Secretariat has approved environmental feasibility studies presented by APM Terminals for the construction of a port terminal dedicated to container ships.
After a long process affected by intense pressures from various sectors, especially trade unions, the environmental impact study was approved by the Environmental Technical Secretariat, giving the green light to the start of construction by the concessionaire APM Terminals. According to company reports, construction could begin in less than a month.
Once again conservationism is at the service of sectoral interests, paralyzing investment in infrastructure which is essential for halting the deteriorating competitiveness of the economy.
EDITORIAL
In Costa Rica an investment of billions of dollars to build a container port has been held up by six years of legal proceedings, and added to this will be a further 5 months due to maneuvers made by uncompromising conservationists in league with unionists.
Only two of the four companies pre-qualified so far by the Autonomous Executive Port Commission have requested the tender documentation to bid for works at the port.
Of the four companies invited to participate in the tender for the construction of Puerto La Union, two are European, one Chilean and one Filipino. Although the period to collect documents began on September 4, so far only two have applied for them.
Despite the new president having reaffirmed his government's commitment to the project at Moin to be run by the Dutch company APM Terminal, his own lawmakers are supporting the formation of a committee to re-analyze the concession contract.
While President Luis Guillermo Solis is touring the United States looking for investors and providing legal certainty to foreign companies, inside the country space is still being given to obviously bias obstructionism on the part of port official unions. Now it is the sphere of the Legislature where a petition will be filed in an attempt to halt the project.
Largo Remo Island in Colon was sold for $30 million for the construction and operation of a container port for handling super post panamax vessels.
The Panamanian Cabinet Council resolved to authorize the Administrative Unit for Reverted Properties-to "... sell to the company SMC BARCELONA, SA, polygon IL01-01, located in the area of the island of Largo Remo, township of Cristobal, district and province of Colón, at a price of 30 million dollars for the construction, development, management and operation of a port for handling containers and other complementary activities. "
The delay in permits for a new container dock in the Caribbean side of Costa Rica could lead to increases in the cost of the project and in the rates.
The final approval for the beggining of the construction of Mega Port by in Moin APM Terminals will be left for the next government, a delay which could cause an increase in the cost of the project and in the rates.
The Costa Rican environmental authority has only 5 technicians to analyze the feasibility of billions of dollars worth of infrastructure projects.
Construction of the new container terminal at the Port of Moin can not begin because the environmental feasibility study has not been approved, because it has been delayed due to lack of staff in the Environmental Technical Secretariat (SETENA).
Leadership from the Limón port workers union have so far opposed all offers from the government.
The union known as Sintrajab, which reunites workers from state-owned Japdeva, is in a standoff with the Costa Rican Government, regarding the concession of operation and administration of the ports to a private entity. Said conflict could be solved with a referendum among the workers, as 52% of Japdeva employees requested a secret vote to define whether the concession is accepted or not.
Among the main investments for this year is the purchase of two container cranes.
Francisco Portillo, Manager of Port Acajutla, reports that in 2010 the Executive Board of Autonomous Ports (CEPA acronym in Spanish) is also planning an investment of $9.6 million in infrastructure and equipment.
German Rivas writes in Laprensagrafica.com about the plans for the remainder of this year: “There is also a major project for the refurbishing of the piers A and C’s concrete structures, which require an investment of $3 million.