Bruce Barnard | Aug 31, 2011 8:37AM EDT
APM Terminals will design, build and operate a large terminal in Costa Rica under a $992 million contract with the country’s government that APM said would launch the largest infrastructure project in Costa Rican history.
The contract includes a 33-year concession to run the Moin Container Terminal on the Caribbean coast in the Puerto Limon/Moin port complex which currently handles 80 percent of Costa Rica’ international trade.
“Our investment in Costa Rica reflects our … strategy to partner with government and business leaders and apply our financial and operational strength to upgrade Latin American ports,” said Henrik L. Pedersen, vice president of business development for the Americas for APM Terminals.
The first phase, to be completed by 2015, will feature nearly 2,000 feet of container berth, six post-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes and 100 acres of yard space.
In the final phase, the terminal will have an area of nearly 200 acres and a 52-foot deep access channel.
APM didn’t give details of the terminal’s handling capacity.
The ambitious project marks the latest step by APM to shift its strategic focus toward emerging markets. Shipping business in many markets outside the main east-west trade lanes has been growing at a faster rate than trade between developed nations, and generally held up better during the global trade recession.
In July, APM Terminals, a unit of Denmark’s A.P. Moller-Maersk, signed a 30-year operating concession for the container terminal in Callao, Peru’s largest port.
APM will also invest $749 million to upgrade the terminal into a multi-purpose facility handling containers, break-bulk and conventional general cargo.
