Contecon increases investment to $22 million for improvements in the Guayaquil Seaport

The company will operate the port terminal until 2046, after extending its contract in 2020 for 19 more years.

Improvements in port infrastructure, such as the level of dredging, and the expansion of its logistics capacity, through the acquisition of new cranes and other equipment, are some of the actions that Contecon Guayaquil (CGSA) is already developing through the increase of investment amount that was made official this Wednesday, May 4, with the signing of an addendum to the investment agreement signed by the company, the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries, and the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works, on September 24, 2020.

With the extension of the contract, through the addendum, the investment amount goes from $18 million - signed in 2020 - to $22 million currently.

Contecon, which is part of the grupo International Container Terminals Services Inc. (ICTSI), has operated the port terminal since May 2007, after a first concession for 20 years that will expire in 2027, but after a modifying contract it was extended and the company will continue until 2046.

In the first 15 years of the concession, CGSA has delivered at least $1.3 billion in contributions to the State and more than $360 million in investments have been made.

“With the signing of this new contract, more than $20 million will be invested, which demonstrates the importance of working together with the private sector,” said Alexandra Villacís, Undersecretary of Ports and Maritime and River Transport, who assured that the investment will improve the capacity for loading and unloading containers, which will translate into more income and greater competitiveness for the country's foreign trade.

For its part,Javier Lancha, CEO of Contecon Guayaquil, specified that the investment of $22 million is part of a total investment of$30 million.

“This investment has a part that is infrastructure, which is reinforcement of the docks, another part that is civil works, dredging; another part that is machinery, cranes; basically those three elements,” explained Lancha, who assured that work has already been carried out, such as the reinforcement of all the docks of the port terminal and the dredging of a large part of the docks, in the absence of dredging of dock 2.

While, Lorena Konanz, Vice Minister of Exports and Investments, pointed out that the investment will allow Guayaquil to receive ships of 366 meters in length and great depth, which will not only facilitate the country's exports, but will substantially improve Ecuador's logistics capacity and competitiveness.

Scanners for the port are in an “intermediate stage”

Safety was also addressed at the event. In this regard, Lancha referred to the upcoming installation of scanners in the port terminal in order to combat organized crime, although he warned that this machinery is only one of the elements within the efforts of the entire foreign trade chain.

Villacís, for his part, gave details about the equipment acquisition process.

"We are in an intermediate stage, the Senae (National Customs Service of Ecuador) has defined the characteristics that these equipment must have, and the last stage is missing, which is to acquire them and define the operational aspects," mentioned the official, who assured that the deadline for their implementation is next November.