International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) said its Mexico operation under Contecon Manzanillo (CMSA) which operates the Second Specialized Container Terminal (TEC-II) at the Port of Manzanillo has started the phase three of its $230 million expansion.
The expansion which started this year and will run up until 2025 will upgrade shipping and terminal infrastructure, storage yards and equipment and increase the Mexico terminal’s capacity to 2 million twenty-equivalent units (TEU) to position Contecon as the largest terminal in Mexico’s Pacific coast.
“The third expansion phase will enable the Port of Manzanillo — a key port in the Pacific Coast of Mexico — to expand its operational capacity and cater to the country’s current and future foreign trade requirements,” ICTSI said in a statement.
“Manzanillo is the most important node of international logistics in the Pacific Coast of Mexico and it will continue to be so. We are convinced that this expansion, as well as the construction of land access to the northern zone of the terminal and the acquisition of new inspection equipment for Customs, will consolidate and strengthen the port’s position among competitors,” said José Antonio Contreras, CMSA chief executive officer.
Contreras said the port is designed to meet present and future needs, as well as handle 400-meter ships.
ICTSI said CMSA’s expansion will create more than 600 new direct jobs, in addition to the existing 1,200, along with 11,600 indirect jobs.
The company has invested around $122 million in port equipment since starting operations, contributing more than $238 million in port considerations to Mexico’s port infrastructure and generating employment for more than 1,200 people.
ICTSI signed a 34-year concession for the Port of Manzanillo in June 2010.
