ICTSI allots $250M for Mexico project

MANILA, Philippines - Port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) has set aside $250 million for the construction of a container terminal in Mexico.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, ICTSI said the terminal, located at the Port of Manzanillo on Mexico’s Pacific coast, will be developed in three phases, with the first designed to have an annual capacity of 450,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs).

Construction is expected to take between 18 to 24 months to complete.

In 2009, ICTSI bagged a 34-year concession to develop and operate a second terminal at Port Manzanillo.

ICTSI has set aside $21 million out of its retained earnings to partly fund its capital expenditures.

With the aim of further expanding its reach, ICTSI has accelerated port acquisitions in the last two years, which include the Port of Portland in the US as well as facilities in Mexico, India and parts of Eastern Europe.

It is looking to acquire new terminal concessions in Asia, Australia, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and North and South America.

The company recently set up a unit in South Africa to handle new assets on the continent.

ICTSI, through unit Batumi International Container Terminal LLC, is also getting ready to construct a $2 million customs clearing facility within the Port of Batumi in Georgia, slated for completion in May 2012.

The facility will consist of an office building to house the customs offices, a waiting area, and an experts’ office. It will also house a parking area that can accommodate 300 cars for customs clearance as automobiles are one of the major imports of Georgia.

Aside from having a dominant position in the Philippines, ICTSI also manages ports in Syria, Colombia, Brazil, Croatia, Japan, Brunei, Madagascar and China.