Final preparations are underway for the operational launch in 2016 of the Aguadulce Multi-User Container Terminal (AMCT) at the Port of Buenaventura, Colombia.
Development of the AMCT is divided into three phases. The first phase, which is slated for completion by April next year, will yield an annual capacity of around 600,000 TEUs.
First phase development includes a 600-meter berth length with a 14.5-meter controlling depth, an 11-hectare container yard, a 250-meter coal bulk dock, conveyor belt-equipped silos and a 21-kilometer access road leading to the terminal.
Sociedad Puerto Industrial de Aguadulce S.A. (SPIA), a unit of International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) in Colombia, recently received four super post-Panamax quay cranes (QC) and five rubber-tired gantries (RTG) that will be used at the new terminal.
Manufactured by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. (ZPMC), the QCs have an individual lifting capacity of 60 tons, and feature twin lift spreaders. They can reach up to 65 meters into the water and perform up to 40 moves per hour. With a maximum lift height of 46 meters, the QCs are capable of servicing 18,000-TEU Triple E class vessels.
Development of the AMCT also includes the construction of warehouses and inspection areas, as well as the deployment of automation and other state-of-the-art port technologies. In July 2007, ICTSI won the 30-year concession for the construction and operation of a container terminal and grains and coal-handling facility at the Port of Buenaventura.
ICTSI acquired stakes in two Panamanian companies to gain effective control of SPIA, which owns 240 hectares of land in the Aguadulce Peninsula and its surroundings. In 2013, ICTSI and PSA International Pte. Ltd of Singapore entered into an agreement to jointly develop and operate the container terminal and its ancillary facilities.