APM Terminals has officially signed a 30-year contract to develop and operate the Terminal Muelle Norte (North Quay) at the Port of Callao in Peru.
The concession was signed in Lima on 12 May by Peruvian President Alan Garcia, representatives of APM Terminals and local partner Central Portuária, reports Fruitnet.com.
“Our vision is to transform Terminal Muelle Norte into a powerful economic generator for the people of Peru and to develop a world-class full-service port and infrastructure on the West Coast of South America,” said Henrik Lundgaard Pedersen, APM Terminals’ vice-president for business development.
The deal has been welcomed by the Peruvian Exporters Association (Adex), with the organisation’s president Juan Varilias saying the concession will “generate competition to the benefit of the sector with the reduction of tariffs and improvement of services”.
Varilias explained in a press release that the modernisation of the North Quay is necessary given the anticipated 14-20 per cent increase in the number of containers passing through the Port of Callao by 2014.
On 1 April, the government of Peru named APM Terminals as the winner of the bidding process, which also attracted submissions from Hutchison Port Holdings.
