New container terminal planned for Montevideo

Shares in the company will be sold at auction on March 17, 2010.

The government is stipulating that a controlling share in the company be owned by a company with not less than five years experience in the period 2004/2008 in the management and mobilisation of container facilities. The terminal operator must have a proven record of moving at least 100,000 teu. There will be no public participation in the new company.

The terminal will be located on a landfill to be created in what is now Montevideo Bay and, according to the specifications of the governmental decree, will have a minimum surface, excluding access areas, of 20 hectares (50 acres) and be served by four ship to shore gantry cranes, each with a minimum out reach of 55 m (185 feet), quays with a minimum length of 600 m (1,968 feet) and berth depths of at least 15.4 m (47.5 feet). The terminal is expected to be fully operational by 2015. Estimated total investment is US$270m.