Mexican ports expand, with investment coming from public and private purses
Mexican ports are in expansion mode. If the tariff offensive by its northern neighbour raised questions over future trade flows with the US, it does not appear to impact ambitions for further expansion, both in the private and public sectors.
At Veracruz, the nation’s top Atlantic gateway, CICE Group opened the first phase of a new terminal for containers and mixed cargo in the port’s north area. A little over 22 ha, it includes a dock of 550 metres, a 500,000 teu-capacity container yard, zones for reefers and hazmat shipments, and an intermodal yard with 1,970 metres of rail.
According to CICE, a provider of port and logistics services, the development was finished in the “probably record time” of little over one year. Work on the second and final development phase is set to begin this quarter.
Veracruz handled 279,937 teu in the first quarter, a decline of 12.2%.
CICE has a presence at other Mexican ports, notably Tampico, where it operates a mixed cargo terminal. It also runs logistics parks in Veracruz, Monterrey and the Mexican capital, and operates a ground transport division. Management declared at the opening of the new facility in Veracruz that it intends to expand in the country, both at ports and in the interior.
At Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico’s second-ranked Pacific gateway, behind Manzanillo, Hutchison Ports is now in the third and final phase of the expansion of its facility, which aims to add 28 ha of operating space and expand the dock by 345 metres to 1,278 metres and the facility’s surface area to 104 ha.
Hutchison’s volume at the port reached 1.5m teu last year, more than 20% higher than its 2023 throughput.
Rival APM Terminals deployed 14 new hybrid shuttle carriers at its Lazaro Cardenas facility at the end of last year, each with a cargo capacity of 50 tons, a $14m investment to optimise operations, improve cargo flow and reduce wait times for truckers.
Meanwhile, more funds may well be headed to Mexico’s logistics and transport arena. The government is looking to funnel some money into the marine transport sector, with funds from the Mexico Plan, announced in January, a stimulus package of up to $1.53bn, a fiscal tap that will be open until 30 September, 2030.
According to one report, projects that require the acquisition of machinery, equipment, and ships will be prioritised, with deductions of up to 73%. There is also going to be a 25% deduction on spend on technological and scientific initiatives.
Jose Manuel Urreta Ortega, national president of the Mexican Chamber of the Marine Transport Industry, welcomed the government decree as a watershed for the national marine industry and called the financing plan an unprecedented fiscal instrument in its scope and focus on naval construction and port operations.
