Manta Port Terminal will officially launch its operations
Customers, government authorities and AGUNSA investors will be attending
This Friday, October 20th, the Manta Port Terminal (TPM) will offer its customer a Reception where they will officially launch the terminal operations. That is how its president, Roberto Salazar, announced it to MundoMaritimo.
“The port has never stopped her operation,” stated Salazar, who explained that during this period “we have dedicated our time to important issues that we have had to solve and the official commencement of the operations at TPM is to announce that we are working strong,” he affirmed.
He also stated that “after all this work over the past six months, almost seven, we have decided to throw an official cocktail, inviting national guests, international, government and local authorities to formalize the commencement of the operations at TPM before the community.”
He also stated that for the occasion “we will update the customers over the operations and also attending will be the Agunsa investors who have been a fundamental part of this project.”
Salazar also recalled the steps taken by the delegation of the Port Terminal: “In December, this delegated management agreement was signed, and in March, TPM – subsidiary of Agunsa, which promoted the private initiative before the National Government of Ecuador – started operations.”
He also recalled the difficulties that the earthquake of 2016 provoked, which caused damage to the infrastructure of the port, which still “could not discourage the drive of the investors and today we are already working on three fronts.”
Roberto Salazar, detailed that these fronts are: the repair and the rehabilitation of the structured damaged by the earthquake; the extension of Pier 2 in 100 metres more, “which signifies that within a year we can expect to have a berth of 300 metres with a depth of 12.5 metres at low Tide, and this is in addition to the investments already done to the equipment and machinery and the modernization of certain areas of the port.”
A third Front, states Salazar, corresponds to a specialized cruise terminal. “This was a plus because this was not a part of the initial contract of the delegated management, but that after the contract was awarded, there was a negotiation stage where questions were raised on further investments, to make it more interesting for the National Government to grant the concession.”
“Therefore the decision was made, taking advantage of the experience Agunsa has with cruise vessels, to begin construction on a specialized cruise terminal, where construction began on August 2nd, and it is expected that it should be ready in the next 12 months, which would meant that for the 2018 season, commencing this month, we will receive at this terminal 20,000 cruise passengers through the port of Manta,” stated Salazar.
Friday, October 20th, 2017
Source: Mundomaritimo.cl