Mexico’s first car-specialized port terminal to start operations in coming weeks

3 January, 2018

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A Specialized Car Terminal (TEA) will start operations in the Port of Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan, during the first quarter of 2018, under the management of the marine port operator SSA Mexico.

Claudia Sanchez, Director of Public and Government Relations of the company, told Notimex in recent days that after several years of litigation against the project, it was possible to overcome this situation and resume the work.

"We are very close to starting operations with the dock and courtyards enabled, it will be the first terminal specialized in cars in the country," she said.

This project represented an investment of US$ 50 million to build the infrastructure in an area of 43 hectares, which includes a 530-meter dock.

The facility will be an important asset for the Mexican automotive industry, as it will have a capacity to house half a million cars.

It was in 2016, when SSA Mexico obtained the concession to operate the TEA for 30 years in the Port of Lazaro Cárdenas, however, the project was stopped by a process of contestation by some of the competitors of the tender for this work, which was launched in 2012.

The director of Projects of the company, Octavio Gonzalez, mentioned that 100% of the movement of vehicles in said port will be handled through the TEA. "Once you start operations in the specialized terminal the rest of the car operations must relocate to that place," he said.

The main strength of this terminal, said Claudia Sanchez, is that there will be an exclusive dock for car carrier ships (which only transport cars).

"The problem in Lazaro Cardenas is that they were combined with all kinds of cargo, even corrosive, so the units could be damaged and it was not as efficient, especially in the area of quality control, where the automotive companies are extremely demanding," she said.

That is why the TEA represents for the assembly companies an "impeccable" operation, since it will have the pier from where a patio will be accessed that will not have any other type of cargo, Sanchez added.

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