The CIIT Looking to Renovate Existing Port Equipment

In an effort to make container handling more efficient in the Salina Cruz & Coatzacoalcos ports, the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT) plans to invest approximately US$50 million (MX$1 billion) for the renovation of existing equipment.

Rafael Marín Mollinedo, manager of the Program for the Development of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec stated that in its current version, crossings between the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts take between 13 and 44 percent more time through the isthmus, versus the Panama Canal, due to the abandonment of routes. In terms of costs, crossing through Mexico is between 7 and 34 percent more expensive as well. "This is why it is necessary to modernize the infrastructure," stated Marín. “Even with an expansion to the Panama Canal, an additional inter-oceanic crossing is required. The Tehuantepec Corridor can be competitive with the necessary infrastructure.” 

With those objectives in mind, the Coatzacoalcos and Salina Cruz Integral Port Administrations (API) have their eyes set on the acquisition of a major equipment crane package for loading and unloading cargo, as well as a package of minor port equipment and accessories for storing cargo  and delivery-reception to vehicular cargo truck transportation and railroads.

This new container program will increase the installed capacity of Pier 5 from 9,627 to 280,061 20-foot containers per year, in addition to guaranteeing the safe and optimal handling of this projected cargo. Currently, Coatzacoalcos does not have specialized facilities or terminals and so far, it has operated under a model based on conventional cargo. Salina Cruz aims to improve operating conditions at the current container dock facilities.

The project is speculated to have an initial investment of more than US$146 million and a total investment of nearly US$1 billion, as long as the project is not delayed. President López Obrador states “We will not leave this work unfinished; we will have the necessary budget to finish this work. We have to finish the entire isthmus project by 2023, at the latest.”