Mexico plans to spend $785 million to expand Veracruz Port

Mexico plans to spend 8 billion pesos ($785 million) to expand and make the Port of Veracruz, one of the country's three busiest, more efficient. The government plans to call for bids on the projects next year, Alejandro Chacon, chief of Mexican ports and merchant marine, said in an e-mail statement. The government will cover about 55 percent of the investment and companies will pay for the remainder, he said. The projects include the construction of two container terminals that should open in 2010, according to the statement. Last year, the port handled 730,000 twenty-foot equivalent units, known as TEUs, as well as 650,000 automobiles and 18 million metric tons of general cargo.