The president of customs, Javier Villanueva Pérez Abreu, says that the port received 75,000 shipping containers in 2017 and will soon reach its capacity.
Business at el Puerto de Altura is growing by 20 percent a year. If demand increases at that pace, the port will quickly require expansion, he said.
In an interview with Punto Medio, Villanueva anticipated that the Leoni company and a new maquiladora in Valladolid will overwhelm the port system.
“There is a risk of saturation and we have to be aware of the port infrastructure so that this does not represent a problem. Last year growth skyrocketed and during 2018 Grupo Modelo will start exporting. The reality is that commercial exchange in the port of Progreso is drowning very quickly,” he said.
In five years, activity at the port will have doubled at this rate, and the situation will be unsustainable, he told Punto Medio.
“It is important that all the participants, both private and public, take this into account so that in the end we do not give bad service to our clients,” he warned.
In addition, he highlighted the inauguration of the port’s fluid terminal, through which fuel such as diesel and gasoline will be exported, increasing its movement.
Gas shipments and general cargo — where the wind-farm towers arrive — end up in the same dock. So the port needs more berths for boats to dock.
“Nowadays we can already see signs of saturation, because there are times when a boat has to wait until the other one is discharged so that it can unload,” he continued.
