SOUTH AMERICA

New Montevideo quay reopens rights debate

12 years ago

Following three years of construction, the new ‘C’ quay has opened at the Uruguayan port of Montevideo. Significantly, the port authority is considering the possibility of putting the operation of all public quays – including ‘C’ – and ship-to-shore cranes out to tender.

This is being welcomed by Katoen Natie, the Belgian operator of the Terminal Cuenca del Plata (TCP) box handling facility. Its main rival, Montecon, continues to handle cargo on public quays, despite the fact that a tender covering management of them was cancelled in 2008.

The new ‘C’ quay has a 366m long berthing line, with eventual alongside water depth of 14 metres. The stacking yard for containers covers some 30,000 square metres. Tariffs charges will be similar for berths 8 and 9, which is viewed by some as effectively providing a subsidy to Montecon, which will be the major uses of ‘C’.

Montecon may also benefit from the deployment of gantry cranes on the new berthing line, as well as the introduction of berthing windows. To date, TCP, the only dedicated container terminal in the port has been allowed to use these.