Venezuela Signs Port Modernization Agreement with Texeira Duarte
The multi-million dollar deal will see the upgrading of the capacities of the La Guaira port in order to reduce loading and unloading times by an estimated 250 percent.
Caracas, January 19, 2017 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signed a multi-million dollar contract with Portuguese construction giant Texeira Duarte for the modernization of the strategic La Guaira port in Vargas state.
Under the terms of the agreement, Venezuela’s state port operator BOLIPUERTOS will collaborate with the Portuguese firm in upgrading the capacities of the port terminal in order to reduce loading and unloading times by an estimated 250 percent. The Bolivarian government will invest US $398 million in the project, while Texeira Duarte will contribute $40 million.
According to Maduro, both parties aim to finish construction work within three months, which he hopes will make La Guaira – located only 16 miles north of Caracas – “the number one South American port”.
“The La Guaira port will be one of the most modern on the continent, with the best services and greatest work capacities,” the head of state stated during the signing ceremony in Miraflores palace.
The project follows three years of construction work that has seen the port increase its capacity in order to now receive 350-meter long vessels with up to 8,000 cargo containers.
The Venezuelan government projects that the new modifications will enable La Guaira to process up to 600,000 containers per year.