NEWS REVIEW
BRIEFS Maputo reports 8% rise in 2019 traffic In 2019, the Angolan Port of Maputo handled 19.5 million tonnes, up 8% on 2018. Most of the gain was down to increased chromium and container traffic. Chromium now accounts for 30% of all cargo, with some 6.4 million tonnes of exports. Containers grew by 53% to 162,000TEU, following the expansion of the box terminal. Phase I dredging and quay upgrades are due in May, with Phase II in July.
New Santos concessionaire
The Brazilian government has signed the concession contract for STS20 terminal at Santos. It is now held by the Hidrovias do Brasil SA consortium, which was officially awarded it in August 2019. The 25-year concession covers an area of 29,000m2 and operation of three warehouses dedicated to fertiliser and salt traffic. This adds to its existing grain and fertiliser businesses in northern Brazil, as well as inland waterway operations on the Uruguay, Paraguay and Paraná rivers.
Six new Brazilian port concessions Brazil’s Council for Investment Partnerships Program (CPPI) has identified 22 public assets to be put out to concession, including six port terminals. These are at Porto Aratu (BA), Port of Maceió (AL), Porto de Santana (AP), Port of Paranaguá (PR); and Port of Vila do Conde (PA). The privatisation programme will also see the sales of several state-owned port companies, including the Espirito Santo Dock Company (Codesa), due to be auctioned off in Q2 2021.
8 | APRIL 2020
MOIN TARIFFS RENEGOTIATION? Moin Container Terminal (MCT), which is part of APM Terminals, has been summoned to the Costa Rican Ministry of Public Works and Transport of Costa Rica. Minister Rodolfo Méndez Mata and the technical secretary of the National Concessions Council, José Manuel Sáenz, have initiated discussions on how to renegotiate rates charged for container handling and also on the terminal’s overall capacity. Mr Méndez says he is reacting to concerns put forward by producers and exporters as to the cost of tariffs levied in the terminal’s first few months of operations. The managing director of APM Terminals in Costa Rica, Mr Hartmut Goeritz, says that the company is absolutely willing to participate in the process, which the government estimates will last around three months. Technical and legal advice is during the process is also being provided by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Tariffs charged by TCM have been in the headlines throughout the terminal’s first full year of operations. Although users acknowledge that overall efficiency of cargo handling has
notably increased, they are also adamant that existing rates charged are too high and should be reduced. However, it was not until December 2019 that the Chamber of Costa Rica Exporters (Cadexco) persuaded the Alvarado government to commence talks with APMT with a view to potentially lowering tariffs charged for container handling. Laura Bonilla, the current president of Cadexco noted recently, “We have insisted that it is necessary to renegotiate that rate. I think that [in this situation] we are business partners where we [can] both win and it is extremely necessary that the
8 MCT has made a strong start to operations, but government wants to renegotiate tariffs
President of the Republic meets with senior leaders of APM and a consensus rate is reached.” Public comments made by APM Terminals insist that the terminal operator remains open to any proposal put forward by the government and that changes remain within the scope of the concession contract signed by Moín Container Terminal. MCT was inaugurated in February 2019 and in its first full year of operations, APM Terminals confirmed that the new facility serviced around 1,100 ships and handled approximately 1.2 million TEU.
COVID-19 IMPACTING KIWI PORTS RESULTS Ports in New Zealand are already seeing COVID-19 impact interim financial results. Ports of Auckland returned a comparable 30% dip in net after-tax profit to NZ$17.2 million and relatively flat revenue of NZ$123.2 million for the six months to December 31, 2019. Container volumes fell 2% to 475,173 TEU and both car and total general cargo volumes remained relatively flat, at 124,295 units and 3.297 million tonnes, respectively. The port is currently in the midst of delivering a major investment programme targeted at increasing capacity, efficiency and returns, as well as meet sustainability goals. Port of Tauranga reported a comparable 1.4% drop in net after-tax profit to NZ$48.3 million
and a 1.2% rise in revenue to NZ$154.8 million for the interim. Container volumes were up 3.4% to 642,209 TEU, but log exports fell 8.4% to 3.4 million tonnes. Also, dairy exports increased 6.3% to 1.2 million tonnes while total trade decreased 4.2% to 13.3 million tonnes. The port has warned that its trade outlook for the remainder of the financial year is uncertain due to the ramifications of the coronavirus, especially on log exports. Port Taranaki has returned a comparable 34% increase in net after-tax profit to NZ$5.31 million and 5% rise in revenue to NZ$25 million for the period. Bulk liquid trade increased 11% to 1.76 million tonnes, log demand was down 5% to 437,000 tonnes
and total dry bulk activity dropped 8.7% to 346,310 tonnes. Although export log volumes are forecast to further slow, the port is predicting a strong outlook based on improving bulk liquids volume, increased offshore support work and further trade diversification. Port Otago reported a comparable 16% drop in profit to NZ$7 million and 2% rise in revenue to NZ$47.16 million for the interim. Container throughput fell 4% to 89,000 TEU, export log volumes reduced 5% to 528,000 tonnes and total bulk cargo volumes dipped 1% to 860,000 tonnes. Forecasting a “challenging” second half year due to COVID-19, the port is nonetheless predicting it will deliver a stable full result.
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