Bruce Barnard, Special Correspondent | Aug 07, 2012 9:42AM EDT
APM Terminals said construction of a container terminal in Costa Rica will start on schedule in 2013 after a court rejected a bid by unions to block the $1 billion project.
The Atlantic Port Authority union, representing dockworkers, and the National Banana Workers union, claimed APM Terminals, the port arm of Denmark’s A.P. Moller-Maersk, was awarded a 33-year concession for the Moin Container Terminal without the necessary economic, environmental and technical studies.
The court ruling “affirms the transparency and legality of the concession process,” said Capt. Paul Gallie, managing director APM Terminals Moin.
“The implementation of the (Moin Container Terminal) process is currently on track, and during this transition period, APM terminals will perform the required detailed environmental and engineering studies in order to produce the final design and gain the statutory licenses and permits.
“These will be submitted for government approval, prior to construction start in 2013,” Gallie said.
Phase 1, scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2016 at a cost of $545 million, will include six post-Panamax ship-to-shore gantry cranes and other specialized equipment.
When completed, the terminal will cover an area of 198 acres with 4,921 feet of quay, five berths, a 1.4-mile breakwater, a 59-feet-deep access channel and nine super-post-Panamax gantry cranes.
APM hasn’t given details about the terminal’s capacity in the first phase, but said it will be expanded in accordance with the provisions of the concession agreement.
Contact Bruce Barnard at brucebarnard47@hotmail.com.
