The first three of the world’s largest and most technologically advanced ship-to-shore (STS) container cranes and two rail mounted cranes for the intermodal rail facility have been delivered to APM Terminals (APMT) Lázaro Cárdenas (TEC2), now in the final stages of construction at Mexico’s second-largest container port.
The terminal development milestone was commemorated by a ceremony held in Mexico’s capital city, attended by Mexico’s General Director of Promotion and Port Administration, Fernando Gamboa Rosas, as well as Maersk Group CEO Nils Smedegaard Andersen and other senior members of Mexico’s port and transportation sectors.
J.D. Nielsen, Managing Director of APMT Mexico, said: “Lázaro Cárdenas TEC2 will be the most technologically advanced container terminal in Latin America, and we are very proud to be a part of Mexico’s ongoing growth as a major world trading partner and global logistics hub.”
The Government of Mexico has announced plans to double port capacity over the next six years. While in Mexico, Nils Andersen confirmed APMT’s interest in expanding operations into the Port of Veracruz as part of a future public bid, eventually linking the Pacific and Gulf Coast operations through intermodal rail links intersecting near Mexico City, at APM Terminals’ Cuautitlán Izcalli intermodal facility.
APMT signed a 32-year concession for the design, construction and operation of the Lazaro Cardenas TEC2 facility, representing an overall investment of US$900 million.
Phase I will include a total of seven STS cranes which feature a 24-container row reach, along with 750 metres of quay, able to accommodate the largest container vessels, a fully-automated gate, as well as an on-dock intermodal rail facility, the largest of its kind in any Latin American port.
Mr Nielsen concluded: “Mexico is an essential part of the growth strategy of the APM Terminals Global Terminal Network in Latin America, and around the world.”
