Two companies are currently competing for a three-phase contract to equip and operate a storage area at Guaymas port's container terminal in the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora, port authority API Guaymas director José Luis Castro told BNamericas.
The companies must still submit expressions of interest in the project, after which API Guaymas will have 60 days to make an official call for bids on the contract. The bidding is expected to last about four months, and the contract is expected to be from 10-15 years, said Castro.
The first phase will be to prepare and operate a 10ha patio area where cargo will be received from ships and transferred to storage areas, giving the terminal a 170,000 TEU per year capacity, said the director.
The second phase will include the addition of four cranes to the area, and additional expansions to the container terminal, bringing its capacity up to 300,000 TEUs/y, Castro said.
For the third phase, an additional 5-10ha will be added, bringing the area's capacity up to 500,000 TEUs per year, or one-third of expected capacity at the port, which feasibility studies have projected to reach some 1.5mn TEUs/y, Castro added.
From the storage area, the cargo is loaded onto trucks or trains at a multimodal area with two cranes, said the director.
The port is currently connected to the Arizona city of Nogales through a highway corridor and a railway corridor, for which use was authorized in 2004, Castro said.
Port officials are negotiating with the US customs service in the hope of having US customs agents stationed in Guaymas, to inspect cargo as it arrives at the port, thereby allowing the free flow of products across the border, BNamericas reported previously.
API Guaymas also plans to meet with US customs officials to propose installing tracking instruments for cargo after it is x-rayed for inspection, to ensure that it arrives to Tucson, Arizona in an expedited manner, Castro said.
The authority will meet in June with officials from the Arizona and Sonora state governments to propose an authorization increasing the amount of cargo that can be transported along this highway, the director added.
A meeting is slated to be held Tuesday (May 29) between officials from national transport and communications ministry SCT, Sonora state and Arizona officials, as well as private interests to review the corridor's progress, and expedite Mexican authorities' legal procedures for its use, Castro said.
The companies must still submit expressions of interest in the project, after which API Guaymas will have 60 days to make an official call for bids on the contract. The bidding is expected to last about four months, and the contract is expected to be from 10-15 years, said Castro.
The first phase will be to prepare and operate a 10ha patio area where cargo will be received from ships and transferred to storage areas, giving the terminal a 170,000 TEU per year capacity, said the director.
The second phase will include the addition of four cranes to the area, and additional expansions to the container terminal, bringing its capacity up to 300,000 TEUs/y, Castro said.
For the third phase, an additional 5-10ha will be added, bringing the area's capacity up to 500,000 TEUs per year, or one-third of expected capacity at the port, which feasibility studies have projected to reach some 1.5mn TEUs/y, Castro added.
From the storage area, the cargo is loaded onto trucks or trains at a multimodal area with two cranes, said the director.
The port is currently connected to the Arizona city of Nogales through a highway corridor and a railway corridor, for which use was authorized in 2004, Castro said.
Port officials are negotiating with the US customs service in the hope of having US customs agents stationed in Guaymas, to inspect cargo as it arrives at the port, thereby allowing the free flow of products across the border, BNamericas reported previously.
API Guaymas also plans to meet with US customs officials to propose installing tracking instruments for cargo after it is x-rayed for inspection, to ensure that it arrives to Tucson, Arizona in an expedited manner, Castro said.
The authority will meet in June with officials from the Arizona and Sonora state governments to propose an authorization increasing the amount of cargo that can be transported along this highway, the director added.
A meeting is slated to be held Tuesday (May 29) between officials from national transport and communications ministry SCT, Sonora state and Arizona officials, as well as private interests to review the corridor's progress, and expedite Mexican authorities' legal procedures for its use, Castro said.