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The Naval Ministry (SEMAR) will oversee the 64-billion-peso (US $3.15 billion) expansion of the Port of Manzanillo in the central Pacific Coast state of Colima between 2024 and 2030.
The Nuevo Manzanillo project will transform Mexico’s largest port into a major international logistics hub as installations are extended by 303% to cover 4,487 acres.
Financing will consist of 15.06 billion pesos ($741 million) in public investment and 48.56 billion pesos ($2.4 billion) in private funding.
The port’s TEU (container) capacity is expected to increase from 3.7 million in 2023 to 10 million in 2030, positioning it in first place in Latin America and displacing Panama’s seaport in Colón and Brazil’s Santos Port from the top spots.
“We are currently in position 53 in the world ranking of ports. We would be talking about the port of Manzanillo being positioned in 15th place in the international ranking,” Julieta Juárez Ochoa, Marketing Manager of Mexico’s National Port System Administration (ASIPONA) Manzanillo, told Excelsior.
The port is currently the third largest in Latin America for shipping and is the principal commercial route to Asia across the Pacific Ocean.
Authorities said they aim to develop the port sustainably and have conducted an environmental impact study that identified mitigation measures to reduce the project’s impact on the area.
In addition to expanding the port’s operational capacity, the project will improve efficiency and competitiveness in the region, officials said. It is expected to create 11,132 direct and 28,626 indirect jobs and boost the local economy, according to government sources..
Greater digitalization will enhance efficiency and improve safety, while artificial intelligence will be used to support operations and monitor personnel.
President Claudia Sheinbaum will tour the site on Nov. 23 to launch construction, with the project expected to be completed in 2030.
Security concerns
Safety concerns surround port development plans given that three cartels – the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), the Independent Cartel of Colima and the Sinaloa Cartel – are fighting for control of the Port of Nuevo Manzanillo, according to reports from El Financiero.
Manzanillo is Mexico’s only Pacific port authorized for the entry of substances or chemical precursors, including those used in the production of synthetic drugs such as fentanyl.
The rivalry between the cartels has led to a wave of violence in Manzanillo and a 17% increase in the city’s homicide rate so far this year. Some of the victims have included members of the navy and Colima state police.
Other crimes that have gone up include drug trafficking and extortion, including the extortion of officials and customs workers.
On Nov. 11, authorities detained the Sinaloa Cartel’s main operator in the area, identified only by officials as Itania Noemí ‘N’. This was part of larger local and federal operations that led to a string of arrests and drug seizures.
Due to the ongoing violence, authorities have reinforced security in and around the port.
With reports from Excelsior, El Financiero, Infobae and La Razón