It will now be necessary to dynamite a large rock in the navigation channel in order to continue dragging the port.
They have not been able to drag the total volume they had wanted, said Gil Díaz, because the type of material (they encountered) is much harder than expected. The plan was 1,800,000 cubic meters and they were only able to drag 1,200,000.
The upgrade of the port project began on November 12, 2013 and was scheduled to be completed in December.
The director noted that although the funds were available to continue the project, they will now have to put out bids for the dynamite work. Two Dutch companies, two Belgian companies and several national companies have shown interest in bidding.
Given the characteristics of the work, Gil Díaz said it was probable that the bid will go to foreign companies as in Mexico there are no companies with the capacity to execute this type of dragging which is very complicated and expensive.
As was expected, the port ended 2013 with fewer container ships and cargo passing through. API statistics show 27,120 containers docked at the port compared to 39,000 in 2012, a difference of 30 percent.
The director attributed the decline to loss of exports of garbanzo beans, the price of which were not attractive to international buyers, but stated the port is seeing more exports of steel.
The opening of the Mazatlán-Durango highway has not yet resulted in new contracts, he commented, but added he expected that will not occur for at least two years yet.
(from Noroeste)
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