To face the challenges, the companies Contecon Manzanillo (ICTSI Group), SSA, Ocupa, Friman (Carrix Group), Hazesa, Corporación Multimodal and TAP Logística Portuaria came together to form the Association of Terminals and Operators Manzanillo (ASTOM), which concentrates 90 % of the port’s activity and that, together, they have injected around 24,000 million pesos into their operations.
José Antonio Contreras Ruíz, president of ASTOM, refers that the new access could make the flows more expeditious as of the first quarter of next year,
“There are private investments such as the TEC II terminal in Manzanillo, which today already invests 4,600 million pesos in the expansion of its facilities, which will provide 40% more container handling capacity. In addition, Hazesa next month inaugurates a new investment of a railway spur directly to its terminal,” Contreras Ruíz told the media.
During the first quarter of the year, the port processed 813,750 containers, 2.2% less than in the same period of 2022. This concentrated 44% of the total containers that arrived in the country.
Going forward, the representative of the port sector in Manzanillo still sees some challenges, mainly road and rail connectivity, as well as customs processes, which have been in charge of the Navy for almost two years.
“The customs issue is very complex, it involves national security. It is very complex to say that the cause of a possible congestion is customs. We see that the authority is making decisions, which hopefully they will arrive as soon as possible. The ports need to evacuate quickly, but there are security implications, which are the responsibility of the State, and we have to see how they impact competitiveness, ”he concluded.