THE Colombian unit of listed port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) has spent $50 billion to buy new equipment that would allow it to improve its efficiency and expand its capacity.
In a statement, the Razon-led corporation said Sociedad Puerto Industrial de Aguadulce SA (SPIA) received four super-post Panamax quay cranes (QC) and five rubber-tired gantries (RTG) as it enters the final stage of preparation for the operational launch in 2016 of the Aguadulce Multi-User Container Terminal (AMCT) at the Port of Buenaventura.
With an individual capacity of 60 tons and its twin-lift spreaders, the QCs can reach up to 65 meters into the water and perform up to 40 moves per hour. With a maximum lift height of 46 meters, the QCs are capable of servicing 18,000-twenty-foot-equivalent-unit (TEU) Triple E class vessels. The RTGs feature single spreader lifts and a 41-ton capacity. Estimated to cost around $50 million, the equipment purchase is part of ICTSI’s $545-million total investment in the Port of Buenaventura.
The development of the AMCT is divided into three phases.
The first phase, which is slated for completion by April next year, will yield an annual capacity of around 600,000 TEUs. First-phase development includes a 600-meter berth length with a 14.5-meter controlling depth, an 11-hectare container yard, a 250-meter coal bulk dock, conveyor belt-equipped silos and a 21-kilometer access road leading to the terminal.
It also includes the construction of warehouses and inspection areas, as well as the deployment of automation and other state-of-the-art port technologies.
In 2007 ICTSI won the 30-year concession for the construction and operation of a container terminal and grains and coal-handling facility at the Port of Buenaventura. The Filipino port operator acquired stakes in two Panamanian companies to gain effective control of SPIA, which owns 240 hectares of land in the Aguadulce Peninsula and its surroundings.
The Razon-led corporation and and PSA International Pte. Ltd. of Singapore in 2013 entered into an agreement to jointly develop and operate the container terminal and its ancillary facilities.
Upon completion, the Greenfield project is expected to become a catalyst for Colombian trade growth.
ICTSI is the largest port operator in the Philippines, which has operations in more than 20 countries across the Asia Pacific, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.