Montevideo Not To Tender

Instead, Uruguyuan President Tabaré Vázquez has signed a decree allowing ANP to create a limited company which will then be sold via an auction.

The firm will be responsible for the construction, administration, maintenance and operation of the terminal for a 30 year period. Once the firm signs the concession contract with ANP, the company will be offered for auction. The move is designed to speed up construction of the new terminal, as it avoids the longer tender process, the ANP official said.

The auction will be held some time between March 1 and June 1 of next year, the official added. The buyer must offer a minimum of $1.2m to purchase the shares of the company with funds being transferred in full to ANP.

The shares will be purchased by a single company or consortium which must meet a number of requirements established by ANP. The buyer must also have port construction and operating experience and 50% or more of its shares must be owned by a container port operator, the official said.

The new facility will complement the port’s only container terminal, Terminal Cuenca del Plata (TCP), which is owned by the Belgian firm Katoen Natie (80%) and ANP (20%).