Mexico''s Guaymas port authority has launched a tender to build and operate a container terminal at the facility.
The Guaymas project will cost an estimated Pesos500m ($39m).
Bidding rules stipulate the construction and operation of 320m on the water front and 50m for pier operations, where cargo will be loaded and unloaded with gantry cranes. Initial capacity is being put at 100,000 containers annually although there is room for further expansion.
The tender also allows for the rehabilitation of 10ha of patio space and equipment.
Proposals must be submitted by March 6, 2009 and the awardee will be announced on March 20 with the terminal ready to start operations in April 2010.
The terminal seeks to handle the southeastern US market, as well as regional markets. Guaymas, in Sonora state, is the second largest port on Mexico's Pacific coast, after Manzanillo.
There is a certain irony to the project. It is going ahead while the mega-port project at Punta Colonet has seen its timeframe extended because of the financial crisis. This probably shows a certain wariness on the government's part to back big projects, especially in a time of turmoil, whereas smaller niche projects are able, and encouraged, to move on.
One prompt for Guaymas is that Grupo Mexico recently announced plans for a smelter and refining plant in the area.
