Maersk inaugurates $460 million container terminal in Mexico
Staff Writer |
Danish shipping firm Maersk inaugurated a $460 million container terminal in the Mexican port of Lazaro Cardenas.
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The ceremony to open the terminal was presided over by Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen.
“Today we’re inaugurating this important investment by Maersk of more than 7.5 billion pesos (some $460 million), which along with other related projects... are on the order of 10 billion pesos,” the Mexican leader said.
According to Mexican government figures, the Specialized Container Terminal II in the western state of Michoacan will create 950 direct jobs and more than 2,000 indirect ones.
Constructed by APM Terminal, the Danish firm’s port division, the terminal encompasses 47 hectares (about 118 acres) and will handle 1.2 million containers per year with cranes capable of simultaneously moving two 40-foot containers.
The terminal is designed to meet the demand of vessels transporting 15,000 containers.
“I feel very proud that a company from my country is building a terminal and establishing an association here so that there is more trade, employment, growth and prosperity in Mexico,” said the Danish premier, who on Tuesday is wrapping up a two-day visit to the country.
Søren Skou, the commercial chief of the world’s largest shipping firm, emphasized that this is the first semi-automated terminal in Latin America and has “world class” characteristics that will allow productivity at the port to be increased.
He also noted that Maersk has a commitment to Mexico and employs 800 people here after 23 years of operations.
Maersk operates in more than 130 countries, employing more than 80,000 people worldwide.
The firm has a 50 percent market share in container movement at Lazaro Cardenas, and in 2016 alone it managed to increase its sales in Mexico by 21 percent, according to figures provided by the Mexican President’s Office. ■
A hyperactive weather pattern will bring an expansive low pressure system across mainland U.S., resulting in widespread impactful weather to progress from west to east across the country through the next few days.