Manila-headquartered port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) has formally launched its newly-expanded seaport facility in Brazil. In a statement released Wednesday, the company said its subsidiary Tecon Suape S.A. (TSSA) has inaugurated the expanded container yard of the Suape Container Terminal (SCT) in northeastern Brazil.
President Arroyo, First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo witnessed the event.
"President Arroyo was impressed with what ICTSI did to the Suape Container terminal. Today, the SCT is the most important container terminal in this part of Brazil. It is the most modern and largest terminal in the northern and northeastern regions of the country," ICTSI Chairman and President Enrique Razon Jr.
The expanded terminal area added seven hectares to the SCT container yard, bringing the terminal's developed area to close to 30 hectares. The recent investment also included terminal support equipment such as reach stackers and prime movers.
TSSA chief executive officer Sergio Kano said the company spent $10 million for the expansion of the SCT. This, he said, is part of a three-year $45-million investment on the seaport facility.
"Since 2002, we have already spent $75 million in developing the SCT. We are now ready to proceed with the next phase of the program. By 2012, our total investment for the SCT would total $120 million," he said.
With the inauguration of the new container yard, Kano said TSSA is preparing the SCT for the commissioning of eight units of rubber tired gantries (RTG) in November. He said this investment would cost $15 million.
"These investments are geared to further strengthen the position of the SCT as a vital port in Latin America. ICTSI envisions the terminal to become an alternative and eventually a major hub in the Atlantic," he said.
"The strategic location of Suape makes it the ideal port to serve transshipment in the region. Hubs in the Caribbean and Mediterranean are getting congested, and the SCT is well-positioned in the South Atlantic to facilitate transshipment traffic," he added.
SCT posted a 22-percent increase in volumes last year, one of the largest in terms of growth among Brazilian ports. Since the privatization of the SCT, TSSA said the port's volume has increased 10 times to 300,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) as of end-2008 from 30,000 TEUs.
Aside from volume, TSSA said the terminal productivity of SCT also improved after they took over the seaport facility.
ICTSI registered a net income of $11 million for the first three months of the year, a 44-percent drop from the same period in 2008. The company attributed the decline to the slowdown in global trade, which led to a 16-percent drop in port operations revenue to $92.8 million.
President Arroyo, First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo witnessed the event.
"President Arroyo was impressed with what ICTSI did to the Suape Container terminal. Today, the SCT is the most important container terminal in this part of Brazil. It is the most modern and largest terminal in the northern and northeastern regions of the country," ICTSI Chairman and President Enrique Razon Jr.
The expanded terminal area added seven hectares to the SCT container yard, bringing the terminal's developed area to close to 30 hectares. The recent investment also included terminal support equipment such as reach stackers and prime movers.
TSSA chief executive officer Sergio Kano said the company spent $10 million for the expansion of the SCT. This, he said, is part of a three-year $45-million investment on the seaport facility.
"Since 2002, we have already spent $75 million in developing the SCT. We are now ready to proceed with the next phase of the program. By 2012, our total investment for the SCT would total $120 million," he said.
With the inauguration of the new container yard, Kano said TSSA is preparing the SCT for the commissioning of eight units of rubber tired gantries (RTG) in November. He said this investment would cost $15 million.
"These investments are geared to further strengthen the position of the SCT as a vital port in Latin America. ICTSI envisions the terminal to become an alternative and eventually a major hub in the Atlantic," he said.
"The strategic location of Suape makes it the ideal port to serve transshipment in the region. Hubs in the Caribbean and Mediterranean are getting congested, and the SCT is well-positioned in the South Atlantic to facilitate transshipment traffic," he added.
SCT posted a 22-percent increase in volumes last year, one of the largest in terms of growth among Brazilian ports. Since the privatization of the SCT, TSSA said the port's volume has increased 10 times to 300,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) as of end-2008 from 30,000 TEUs.
Aside from volume, TSSA said the terminal productivity of SCT also improved after they took over the seaport facility.
ICTSI registered a net income of $11 million for the first three months of the year, a 44-percent drop from the same period in 2008. The company attributed the decline to the slowdown in global trade, which led to a 16-percent drop in port operations revenue to $92.8 million.