Honduran President inaugurates the new Pier 6 facility of Puerto Cortes
Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez recently inaugurated the new Pier 6 facility of Puerto Cortes operated by Operadora Portuaria Centroamericana S.A. de C.V. (OPC), a subsidiary of International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), expected to further strengthen the country’s position as Central America’s premiere logistics hub, ICTSI said in its press release.
The US$145 million greenfield development, which represents the first phase of OPC’s expansion work in Puertos Cortes, adds another 350 meters of quay to the existing 800 meters and depth of 14 meters.
OPC is now the only port in the Central America-Four (CA-4) region able to receive the largest box ships plying major trade routes in the Atlantic thanks to two of its new super post-Panamax cranes, which also increased the annual operational capacity of the terminal by 50 percent to 1.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).
“Pier number 6 positions Puerto Cortés to be the leader of the region and the Caribbean," President Hernández said at the inauguration. "This is a moment in which we see dreams as something tangible.”
The president stressed further that OPC’s multi-dollar investment reflects the level of confidence of businesses towards the country’s vibrant economy, and is expected to generate more jobs and income for Honduran families: “These works fill us with pride, they bring us progress and generate more employment.”
Enrique K. Razon Jr., ICTSI chairman and president, who headed the ICTSI and OPC officers, underscored the importance of quality port infrastructure towards greater economic growth, and assured ICTSI’s support to contribute towards the growth of the Honduran economy: “The expansion work we see today is a clear demonstration of the support we have been getting to help us effectively and efficiently develop and run the terminal.”
Apart from the new quay cranes and berth, the Company also invested in the most important and modern Logistic Operations Center within a port terminal in Central America in June, adding to the array of world-class facilities and services that OPC offers.
About Operadora Portuaria Centroamericana (OPC)
In February 2013, ICTSI, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Operadora Portuaria Centroamericana (OPC), won the international bid for the design, financing, construction, maintenance, operation, and exploration of Specialized Container and Cargo Terminal in the Republic of Honduras. An important port in Central America, OPC is the only port in the CA-4 region – comprised of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua- allowing containers loaded from the Honduran port to arrive at US ports already pre-checked and with a lower risk rate, resulting in greater speed for dispatch processes aside from reducing costs at destination.
About International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI)
Headquartered and established in 1988 in Manila, Philippines, International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) is in the business of port development, management and operations. As an independent business with no shipping, logistics or consignee-related interests, ICTSI works and transacts transparently with any stakeholder in the port community. ICTSI’s portfolio of terminals and projects spans developed and emerging market economies in the Asia Pacific, the Americas, and Europe, the Middle East and Africa. ICTSI has received global acclaim for its public-private partnerships with governments divesting of their port assets to the private sector.
