Dutch company APM was awarded the concession this week to conduct the massive expansion project on the Moín port on the Caribbean coast. The expansion project, which will be completed by 2016, is estimated to require an investment of $948 million.
According the Transportation and Public Works Ministry (MOPT), beginning in 2013, APM will begin construction on a mega platform on the port with six docking slips that will allow for giant Post Panamax ships to come to port. Post Panamax ships can carry up to 12,000 containers of cargo.
APM will also construct 13 shipping cranes that will be used to transport cargo from ships to shore.
“The government is aware of the need for a new port, considering that 75 percent of Costa Rican imports and exports pass through the ports of Limón and Moín,” said Transportation Minister Francisco Jiménez. “The government goal of increasing exports to $17 billion by the year 2014 can’t be accomplished without an investment in infrastructure.”
The new port of Moín is expected to dramatically improve efficiency on the Caribbean and will be a significant upgrade to the current infrastructure offered at the Limón port.
In addition to the port project, the government intends to couple the Moín expansion with further development of national roads in the north Caribbean region and the construction of a new petroleum refinery. The refinery plans are being evaluated.
“The Moín project is key and a priority within the National Development Plan for infrastructure and Master Port Plan,” President Laura Chinchilla said Tuesday. “The project will be integrated with the north Caribbean roadway plan, the improvement of Route 32 from San José to Limón and the construction of the petroleum refinery. It will result in positive changes for the economy of the Atlantic region and all of the country.”
