Port of Tuxpan Expansion to Create 11,000 Jobs

Mexico’s Ministry of Communication and Transport (SCT) has published plans for the expansion of storage capabilities from 2.7 million barrels of oil to 10.1 million barrels of oil at the Port of Tuxpan, Milenio reports. The expansion should generate 11,000 jobs.

The current lack of storage at Mexico’s ports has caused vessels to be stranded of the country’s coasts in recent weeks, as national storage remains full due to the reduced oil demand that COVID-19 has caused. As part of the country’s energy logistics upgrades ahead of the expected increase in offshore oil production, ports including Tuxpan, Veracruz and Dos Bocas are also being improved.

Tuxpan’s expansion will be delivered through seven separate projects, all of which are being spearheaded by private companies aided by private investment. The overall budget for the works is MX$22.2 billion (US$930 million) says SCT. The port’s Atlantic coast location and proximity to oil and gas works in the Gulf of Mexico make its importance to the supply chain in offshore oil activity clear.

New logistics corridors being opened between Mexico and Europe and Asia are also pushing the development of the country’s maritime port infrastructure. CAXXOR Group is one company financing the development of Mexico’s ports to provide transport from the ports of Chiapas, Veracruz and Soto La Marina in Tamaulipas, says Expansión. According to the magazine, Chiapas’ improvements are intended to promote commerce between companies in Mexico and those in Honduras and Guatemala, where CAXXOR Group is also investing in port development.

In March, Fernando Bustamente, General Director of Ports at the General Coordination of Ports & Merchant Marine, told Mexico Business News that the organization was seeking to “create fewer obstacles in the development of the ports and for the people involved” and that “the private sector plays a very large role in the development of port infrastructure, particularly in new projects.”

However, Bustamente explained that enhanced storage capacities at ports including Manzanillo, Coatzacoalcos and Salina Cruz, were not the only benefits of the port expansion works. He also pointed to the development of Intermodal Portuary & Coastal Systems (SIPCOS), which aim to integrate port expansions into the general development of the coastal regions where they are located.