The Costa Rican courts have ruled in favour of APM Terminals in two lawsuits which were intended to block the awarded concession for the new Moin Container Terminal (TCM) on the country’s Caribbean coast, according to a press release from the company.
The decisions in the two court cases brought against the company and the government affirm the “transparency and legality of the concession process”, explained Paul Gallie, managing director of APM Terminals Moin.
APM won the 33-year concession to design, finance, construct, operate and maintain the TCM through an investment of US$992.93m in what will bethe largest single privately funded infrastructure project in Costa Rica.
According to the company, the TCM project is currently on track, with APM Terminals shortly to perform the required detailed environmental and engineering studies in order to produce the final design and gain the statutory licences and permits.
“These will be submitted for government approval, prior to construction start in 2013,”
Gallie added.
APM Terminals said the TCM is expected to boost Costa Rica’s long-term economic growth and global competitiveness.
“For the first time, the country will be able to take advantage of its proximity to the Panama Canal by servicing today’s modern fleet of much larger container ships,” the group noted.
“Costa Rica’s international commerce will benefit greatly, in terms of economies of scale and improved supply chain efficiency, with a world class container terminal operating at the highest global safety, security and productivity standards.”
APM Terminals believes the TCM will be a “catalyst for accelerated foreign and domestic manufacturing and logistics investments” in Costa Rica’s Limón Province.
Currently, the Caribbean Port of Moin handles up to 80 per cent of Costa Rica’s international commerce.
