Almost nine years after its inauguration, Puerto La Union in El Salvador is still not operating to its full capacity, and two years have now passed without a private company managing to take over its operation.
The explanation seems simple: There is no market for this port in the Pacific. Puerto La Unión, whose construction ended almost nine years ago, has not succeeded because there is no demand for cargo. The president of the Autonomous Executive Port Commission (CEPA) himself, Nelson Vanegas, recognizes it."..."The biggest problem is that there is no cargo.You can´t put the horse before the cart.You have to put first horse first, to pull the cart.This is a classic project in which they put the cart first, because there was no cargo'."
The 70% growth in cargo movement through the port of Corinto in the last five years reflects the imperative need for Nicaragua to invest more in port infrastructure.
Even though container movements through Nicaraguan ports are still significantly less than that through other ports in the region, the increase in sea freight traffic and its growth potential compel the government and the sectors involved to think about options for increasing port capacity.
The Autonomous Executive Port Commission of El Salvador is putting out to tender the supply of 2 Straddle Carrier container cranes.
Government Purchase El Salvador DR-CAFTA-ADACA-UE CEPA-LA-15/2017:
"The objective is to acquire two (2) Straddle Carrier Container Cranes, which includes their assembly and commissioning at the Port of Acajutla by technical personnel sent by the manufacturer.
A court ruling has overturned the SAT resolutions authorizing Empresa Portuaria Quetzal y Terminal de Contenedores Quetzal to operate as temporary customs warehouses.
Although the Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT) has announced that it will be appealing the ruling given by the Second Administrative Appeals Chamber, the reality is that since June 28, the activities of the customs warehouses in Empresa Portuaria Quetzal (EPQ) have been suspended as well as those at the Terminal de Contenedores Quetzal (TCQ)."...The resolution orders that the SAT no longer has the customs service under its administration, which contravenes the Central American Customs Code CAUCA, therefore the Superintendency will file an appeal against the decision made by the Court."
From July 25 to 28 representatives from the port industry in the region will be meeting in Belize at the XXXIX Port Meeting of the Central American Isthmus.
At the event, to be held at the Best Westerm Biltmore Plaza Hotel in Belize, the main discussion panels will address current issues such as the Cruise Industry, Mobility and Logistics Policy in Central America, Strengthening Environmental Port Management in Central America, Multilateral Agreement And Safety, Port Security and Protection, Gross Verified Mass (GVM), Climate Change and the Role of Women in the Port Industry, among others.
The Executive Port Commission plans to invest $9 million this year on modernization works at the Salvadoran terminal, and $20 million in the purchase of two RTG gantry cranes.
The head of the Autonomous Executive Port Commission (CEPA), Nelson Vanegas, announced that $9 million will be allocated towards improving the terminal's infrastructure.
The operator of Puerto Caldera in Costa Rica, has hired a French-Colombian consortium for the construction of a multipurpose port in the Gulf of Uraba, adjacent to the border with Panama, with an investment of $580 million.
PIO SAS, a holding company dedicated among other sectors to the development, implementation and management of services for port infrastructure and logistics, has announced that the consortium Sapeim from France and Termotecnica Coindustrial S.A. from Colombia, is the preferred contractor for the stage of Engineering, Procurement, and construction (EPC) of Puerto Antioquia, which will be the closest Colombian port to the Panama canal and the closest to Medellin and Bogota.
Importers have denounced the fact that they are having to pay up to $5,000 for each container for inspections and the extra time that they have to wait in the Salvadoran terminal.
Companies affiliated with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Cortes (CCIC) report that their containers are spending up to 30 consecutive days in detention in the Salvadoran port of Acajutla, causing delays in shipments of merchandise and "...
There are no companies interested in resuming operations at the Salvadoran port terminal under the public-private partnership model.
The tenders to award a concession of the terminal did not peak the interest of any company, and now, the possibility of operating the port La Union under the legal concept of a public-private partnership has also been found to not be an attractive option.The Salvadoran government has insisted on finding a way for La Union to become operational, even thoughthere is not enough maritime traffic to be served by this terminal and that of Acajutla.
The ACP has approved the documents to tender in ten days a concession to one of the prequalified companies; PSA International Ltd, Terminal Link, Terminal Investments Limited and APM Terminals.
From a statement issued by the Panama Canal Authority:
The Board of Directors of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) approved the request for proposal documents and authorized the admininstrators to continue with the approval process, prior to tendering the concession of the Port of Corozal with the shortlisted companies.
The Salvadoran government has ruled out making another tender to grant the operation of the terminal and is preparing a bill so that it can be granted under the form of a lease.
The mistakes made when trying to put out to tender, repeatedly, the operation of Puerto La Union will not be repeated again, as now a proposal has been made to change the format under which the terminal operates from a concession to a lease arrangement The Salvadoran government insists on finding a way for La Union to be operational, even thoughthere is not enough maritime traffic to be served by this terminal and the one in Acajutla.
Elmundo.sv reports that "...The Technical and Planning secretary of the Presidency, Roberto Lorenzana said that the Executive Branch will promote to the Legislature the Port Services Act which allows for operation of this terminal to be granted under a lease format.The official recalled that investors who initially showed interest in the project were not attracted to the idea of a concession of this port governed by the Law on Concessions, which establishes certain conditions and the payment of an initial fee and a defined cargo quota in a port with a minimum cargo handling and which is located in an 'inappropriate' place. "
In this regard, the executive director of Coexport, Silvia Cuellar,"... said although offering facilities will probably help attract investors, they are concerned that the discussion of what to do with the port is advancing slowly, while other terminals such as Puerto Cortes in Honduras and Puerto Santo Tomas de Castilla in Guatemala are undertaking improvement projects to attract more cargo to their facilities. "
The global relevance of companies seeking the award of a third port for container ships in the Pacific is a clear sign of the importance of Panama as maritime and logistics hub.
The companies pre-qualified to participate in the tender for the concession of a new port in Corozal are subsidiaries of the largest shipping companies such as Maersk-Denmark, MSC-Italy and CMA-CGM-France or are direct port operators, in this case the most important in the world, PSA from Singapore.
A conflict of interest between the two ports has been revealed following a demand for the concession of the Puerto de La Union to include the Port of Acajutla.
The failure of the Puerto de La Union - the concession for which no longer even has any suitors - has a basic cause: neither today- nor in the medium term- is there enough maritime traffic for both terminals to have enough work.
It is not only the port of Corozal which needs immediate promotion, there is also an urgent need to keep building port infrastructure in order to take advantage of the Canal expansion.
EDITORIAL
The opinion of entrepreneurs in the logistics sector is unanimous: the forthcoming opening of the new and expanded Panama Canal locks should be the starting point for consolidating Panama as a major logistics hub for the hemisphere.
The new 340 meters quay that the concessionaire Colon Container Terminal has started to operate has capacity to accommodate up to 22 rows of vessels.
The dock required an investment of $150 million and has increased port capacity by 500 thousand TEUs, bringing the total capacity of the port to 2 million TEUs.
A statement from the Presidency of Panama states that "...