APM Terminals Finalizes Cartagena Joint Venture

APM Terminals and Compañia de Puertos Asociados S.A. (Compas S.A.) have finalized the incorporation of Cartagena Container Terminal Operator (CCTO), a new joint venture which will manage and operate Compas S.A.’s existing multipurpose facility in Cartagena, Colombia.

APM Terminals will hold a 51% majority share in the operation, which includes annual throughput capacities of 250,000 TEUs and 1.5 million tons of general cargo.

CCTO and Compas S.A. will jointly invest over USD $200 million in upgrading and expanding the facility to triple the annual throughput capacity, and enable the terminal to handle vessels up to 13,000 TEU capacity which will be able to transit the Panama Canal after the lock-widening project is completed this year.

“We are proud to expand the APM Terminals Global Terminal Network into this important South American market in partnership with such a highly respected business as Compas S.A., and we look forward to building upon their achievements in the port of Cartagena,” said APM Terminals CEO Kim Fejfer.

A recent World Bank report has noted that Colombia’s population of 47 million, the second-largest in South America, has seen the poverty rate decline from 49% in 2003 to 21.9% in 2014, with economic growth leading to job creation as the main engine of poverty reduction.

Increased trade opportunities resulting from port and transportation infrastructure investment and improvement will help to continue to drive Colombia’s economic expansion and social progress.

Photo: Pictured left to right are Mr. Gabriel Echavarría, President of Compas Board of Directors who signed the deal on behalf of Compas and Mr. Joe Nicklaus Nielsen, Vice President, Port Investments for APM Terminals

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