A GRAND new container terminal in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires has been officially opened by regional dignitaries.
The opening of TecPlata, based in Puerto de La Plata, was attended by the Buenos Aires vice governor and minister of Production, as well as other national, provincial and municipal VIPs.
The US$450m (AU$628m) project, utilises modern equipment and computer systems in the industry and is equipped to expand the terminal to twice its existing capacity.
TecPlata chief executive Bruno Porchietto said the facility would bring big benefits.
“This is a first step for the company, and we firmly believe that this will pave the way for new agreements with more operators to maximize our current installed capacity of 450,000 TEUs,” Mr Porchietto said.
The launch party even witnessed the arrival of TecPlata’s first vessel, Jacaranda, of the Brazilian shipping line, Log-In.
TecPlata is a subsidiary of the Philippine-based ICTSI which also owns Victoria International Container Terminal in Melbourne.
“This was a long-awaited milestone and, from hereon, our terminal will stand apart for its efficiency, competitiveness and transparency,” Mr Porchietto said in reference to Jacaranda’s arrival.
The TecPlata terminal is 60km from the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires, and covers 41 hectares, 25 of which have been allocated to shipping containers.Jacaranda, with an LOA of 218 metres and cargo capacity of nearly 38 tonnes, marks the first visit of the Log-In’s future fortnightly operations at TecPlata.
