APM Terminals Lázaro Cárdenas Gets Lifting Capacity Boost

Dutch port operator APM Terminals, part of Maersk Group, has taken delivery of the first three of the world’s largest Ship-to-Shore (STS) container cranes and two rail mounted cranes for the Lázaro Cárdenas Terminal Especializada de Contenedores II (TEC2), now in the final stages of construction at the Port of Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico.

This 1.2 million annual TEU capacity, semi-automated deep-water facility on Mexico’s Pacific Coast is scheduled to begin operations in 2016.

APM Terminals signed a 32-year concession for the design, construction and operation of the Lazaro Cardenas TEC2 facility, representing an overall investment of USD 900 million.

Phase I will include a total of seven STS cranes which feature a 24-container row reach, along with 750 meters of quay, able to accommodate the largest container vessels, a fully-automated gate as well as an on-dock intermodal rail facility, the largest of its kind in any Latin American port.

“Lázaro Cárdenas TEC2 will be the most technologically advanced container terminal in Latin America, and we are very proud to be a part of Mexico’s ongoing growth as a major world trading partner and global logistics hub,” said APM Terminals Mexico’s Managing Director J.D. Nielsen.

The Government of Mexico has announced plans to double port capacity over the next six years.

While in Mexico, Maersk Group CEO Nils Smedegaard Andersen confirmed APM Terminals’ interest in expanding operations into the Port of Veracruz as part of a future public bid, eventually linking the Pacific and Gulf Coast operations through intermodal rail links intersecting near Mexico City, at APM Terminals’ Cuautitlán Izcalli intermodal facility, located near 250 distribution centers in Mexico’s premier industrial zone.

“Mexico is an essential part of the growth strategy of the APM Terminals Global Terminal Network in Latin America, and around the world,” said Nielsen.