..while Tamaulipas state to upgrade El Mezquital…

In keeping with the rest of North Africa, the two Spanish Moroccan enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta believe that there is still money is to be made from developing major container transhipment hubs. However, their desire to break into this market is being driven by other factors, too.

Mexico’s northern state of Tamaulipas is preparing a US$30m investment package to transform the existing port of El Mezquital into a terminal handling exports bound for the US. Dredging work is expected to start by the second half of this year followed by construction of new piers and terminals. The existing port is not capable of handling vessels larger than 5,000 tonnes because of a draught limitations, while the port is not currently fed from the National Grid and would therefore require an independent power source which will be wind generated. The port, which is just 74km from the Texas border, will be used to rotate exports from the cities of Monterey and Torreon to the US. Current plans envisage the port to be fully operational within three years, but following just US$50m investment some form of limited operation could commence.