It is expected that in November of this year the construction of the new dock 2A in the bay of Puerto Cortés, in Honduras, which will serve for the export of stone aggregates to the U.S., will be completed.
Directors of Grupo Avanza, the company in charge of the project valued at $22 million, informed that the works have already begun and estimate that in the first 15 days of November the work will be completed.
The Ecuadorian firm Carrocerías Imce is once again considering investing in an assembly plant for bus chasis near Puerto Cortés.
The company Carrocerías Imce has not yet determined the amount of the potential investment, but confirmed they would need a plot of land measuring 4,000 square meters in order to install an assembly plant near the port which gives them maritime transport facilities.
Nathan Associates Inc. was selected to provide inspection services for the operation and exploitation of the port terminal for a period of three years.
From a statement by the Commission for the Promotion of Public-Private Partnerships (Coalianza):
Through a transparent and competitive process consistent with the concession to operate the container terminal, the Technical Committee of the Trust awarded the contract to the company Nathan Associates Inc. for Inspection Services, Operation and Exploitation of the Specialized and General Cargo Container Terminal at Puerto Cortés. As Inspector of Operations, Nathan Associates will ensure strict compliance with the standards of service and productivity of the container terminal for a period of three years.
Although the financial resources needed to modernize the port of Cortés are available through an IDB loan which has already been approved, lack of implementation is preventing work from starting.
The year 2014 had been set as the date when work would start on the modernization of the four main ports but the National Port Company (ENP by its initials in Spanish) has not been able to start and works are still paralyzed, despite having borrowed $135 million from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The aim is to optimize the entry and exit of cargo at the container terminal where there have been long lines and delays in procedures.
After some problems arose last week, executives from Operadora Portuaria de Centroamérica (OPC) pledged to streamline the procedures for the entry and exit of cargo at Empresa Nacional Portuaria.
Mariano Torres, director of operations at OPC said that "we are working on making the export formalities available to be processed via the web because that would halve the amount of paperwork at terminal for shipping companies." It is estimated that the system will be ready next week.
Carriers have blocked the entry and exit of cargo as a protest against the Honduran National Port Company (Empresa Nacional Portuaria de Honduras).
From Tuesday 25 cargo carriers have kept access to the Port of Honduras blocked in protest at the slow service and new charges. The export sector is concerned about the condition of goods which need to be sold as soon as possible in the U.S. market to ensure their quality.
The port, a leader years ago in transit of goods in Central America, has fallen to fourth place due to lack of investment and infrastructure backlog.
At the moment the port terminal does not have adequate equipment, meaning that ships accumulate in the docks, spending between 12 hours to several days waiting, when the stipulated time for removal of cargo is 5 days.
On 8th and 9th of July, a multi sectoral mission for trade and investment will hold business meetings with Honduran businessmen.
"The areas of tourism, services, chemicals, technology, manufacturing, agribusiness, food and beverages, minerals and construction materials will be represented at the meeting," noted an article in Laprensa.hn. Honduran entrepreneurs have until July 5 to register for the event which will be held in the Chamber of Commerce and Industries in Cortes (CCIC).
The consortium COPRECA-CYES won the tender for the construction of the Solid Bulk Terminal at Puerto Cortes in Honduras, while the Consortium Multisur SA won operation of the Terminal.
From a press release issued by the Commission for the Promotion of Public-Private Partnership (COALIANZA):
In an act held at the hotel Honduras Maya, COPRECA-CYES a consortium made up of companies from Guatemala and Spain respectively, was the winner of the tender for the construction of the terminal, while the Consortium Multisur SA de CV from Mexico won operation of the bulk terminal at Puerto Cortés.
The National Port of Honduras will be receiving expressions of interest for hiring a consulting firm to support the expansion and modernization project of Puerto Cortés.
Services include primarily the function of supporting the Borrower (ENP) in the administration and supervision of the overall project works by performing the following activities:
-Provide specialized consulting services for project implementation
With changes to the conditions, the tender process to award the construction of the bulk terminal of Puerto Cortés will be reopened.
According to Carlos Pineda, Coalianza's commissioner, they are still defining the type of process to be used in the new tender. "They have to change some conditions of the competition, but the project itself has not changed, it is the same and its basic structure is the same.
The tender for the construction of a bulk terminal in Puerto Cortes has been declared a failure, after the only two offers received were rejected.
"The decision of the Commission for the Promotion of Public-Private Partnerships (COALIANZA), the National Port Company (ENP by its initials in Spanish ) and Banco Atlantida, the entity in charge of the trust, came after neither participants fulfilled all the requirements", reported Laprensa.hn.
Grupo Naviero Peninsular de México and the Chilean Sudamericana Agencias Aéreas y Marítimas S.A., were the only companies who made bids for the management of the grain terminal in Puerto Cortes.
Laprensa.hn reports that "investment in this process is estimated at between $40 and $50 million and its impact will be reflected in import costs, employment generation and revenue for the National Port Authority (ENP by its initials in Spanish) and tax payments made by the winning consortium as well as the higher volume of traffic generated at Puerto Cortes due to it being more efficient. "
The contract for the construction, equipment, financing, maintenance and operation of the Honduran port terminal, was signed yesterday by COALIANZA, Banco Ficohsa and the Philippino company International Container Services.
The president of COALIANZA, Carlos Pineda, said that the signing of this contract with International Container Services (ICTSI) exceeded 25% of the estimated investment in the tender process, which initially was $500 million, with a final bid of $624 million .