BajaNews - 3-30-2006 at 04:27 PM
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20060328-9999-1b28...
Punta Colonet to be built from scratch, official says
By Diane Lindquist
March 28, 2006
ENSENADA ? Mexico in the next two weeks plans to publish the dimensions and specifications of the megaport it expects to be developed 50 miles south
of Ensenada at Punta Colonet.
One to two months after publishing the footprint, government officials will offer the project up for bids, Ensenada port Director Carlos J?uregui
Gonz?lez said in an interview. It is expected to become Mexico's largest port, he said.
Port development and operating concessions will be paired with a concession to build and operate a rail line that will run 180 miles north and connect
to the U.S.-Mexico border east of Mexicali, he said.
Together, the projects are expected to have a value of $4 billion to $5 billion.
In the interview, J?uregui offered the most details yet on the highly anticipated Punta Colonet project.
The development, which is being pushed by global shippers and major retailers such as Wal-Mart and Costco, is expected to relieve congestion at the
ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, which handle 40 percent of the cargo shipped into the United States and 80 percent of U.S. imports from Asia.
A dispute between shipping lines and dock workers in 2003 led to a shutdown of all major Western U.S. ports, prompting shippers to seek alternatives
south of the border.
Punta Colonet, currently a desolate, uninhabited inlet 150 south of San Diego, is expected to receive ships carrying containerized cargo mostly from
Asia. The containers will be transferred to rail cars and sent to destinations in the interior of Mexico and the United States.
Unlike most other infrastructure projects Mexico has offered in a spate of privatizations over the past two decades, the Punta Colonet port and
railroad development will be built from scratch, J?uregui noted.
?In this case everything will be new,? he said. ?The difference is that the developers will build everything.?
The port will occupy nearly 7,000 acres, 97 percent of it water and 3 percent tidelands, he said. It will be configured in a U shape, with one leg
making up a breakwater to protect operations from ocean waves.
Officials of the Mexican ministries of communications and transportation, the navy and the environment ? which along with the state of Baja California
are overseeing the development ? are putting final touches on the rules under which the project will be bid and the terms that will determine the
winners.
Once bidding terms are published, J?uregui will embark on a campaign that will take him to the United States, Asia and Southeast Asia to encourage
private enterprises to enter the bidding for the long-term development and operating concession.
The winning bid ?will be the best proposal for handling the container traffic and the volume that will be provided,? he said.
?The development will have to be done by phases. Obviously the construction of the breakwater and the dredging (for the port) will be one of the
initial investments.?
Work on the project is expected to start by 2008 and take four years. Once in operation, Punta Colonet will come under the jurisdiction of the Port of
Ensenada. It will be a specialized port, handling only container ships.
Container traffic currently handled at the Port of Ensenada, which is a mixed-use port, will be shifted to Colonet by 2017 when the current operator's
concession ends. Other types of cargo will be moved to the port at El Sauzal north of Ensenada, leaving Ensenada for cruise ship and tourist
activities.
After Punta Colonet's first phase of development, the port could handle 1 million TEUs ? or 20-foot equivalent units, the standard measurement in the
shipping industry ? and as much as 6 million TEUs by 2025, making it the largest port in Mexico.
Development of Punta Colonet will not only include the port and the rail line but also a new city that will support port operations.
?We'll have to develop a new city or urban settlement,? he said. ?Where are the workers going to live? What will be the cultural and social supports?
All types of agencies, universities and institutions will be involved.?
Environmental studies will be mandatory, he said. Assessments conducted for the rail line will seek to ensure that indigenous communities are not
harmed.
?This is an opportunity for us, including investors and the community, to provide a project that will promote sustainability,? J?uregui said. ?We have
to let the people know there's not going to be another pollution source. Rather, this project will generate economic activity and jobs and a better
quality of life.?