INTERNATIONAL Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) on Monday said its port concession in Ecuador has been given the go signal from the government to service larger vessels.
In a statement, the Razon-led port operator said the Ecuadorian Ministry of Transport and Public Works has allowed ICTSI’s concession Contecon Guayaquil SA (CGSA) to handle up to 305-meter mega vessels at Berths 2 and 3 of the Port of Guayaquil.
“With this, CGSA is now the first and only terminal in Ecuador with the capacity to serve two mega vessels at the same time, resulting in higher efficiency and productivity levels,” it said.
ICTSI Chairman and President Enrique K. Razon, Jr. noted its 11-year operations in Ecuador, specifically its public-private partnership in the Port of Guayaquil, is one of the company’s most successful endeavors.
“The government’s trust, through their approval for CGSA to handle mega vessels, speaks of our excellent track record in operating the port,” he was quoted as saying in the statement.
CGSA has six quay cranes and four mobile harbor cranes in its 1,627-meter berth line. The 115.4-hectare terminal, located near Ecuador’s main export zones, could carry up to 1.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) every year.
Ecuador President Lenin Moreno had previously praised ICTSI for its operations in their country. “In these facilities, the Contecon concessionaire invested $10 million. This amount is part of the $325 million they pledged to invest 20 years up to 2027 on Port Authority grounds. However, we should highlight that, in these 10 years, Contecon has already invested $360 million — $35 million more than expected,” Mr. Moreno was quoted as saying.
ICTSI said it is the largest port operator in Latin America, with two concessions in Mexico and projects in Ecuador, Honduras, Colombia, Brazil and Argentina. — Denise A. Valdez
