APM Terminals Lazaro Cardenas receives high-tech cranes

The first three of the world's largest ship-to-shore (STS) container cranes and two rail mounted cranes for an intermodal rail facility were recently delivered to APM Terminals' Lazaro Cardenas (TEC2), now in the final stages of construction at Mexico's second-largest container port.

Photo: APM Terminals

The terminal development milestone was commemorated by a ceremony held in Mexico City last week, according to an APM Terminals press release. In attendance were Mexico’s General Director of Promotion and Port Administration Fernando Gamboa Rosas, as well as Maersk Group Chief Executive Officer Nils Smedegaard Andersen and other senior members of Mexico's port and transportation sectors.

Scheduled to begin operations in 2016, the semi-automated deepwater facility will have an annual capacity of 1.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU).

APM Terminals signed a 32-year concession for the design, construction and operation of the TEC2 facility, an overall investment of $900 million. Phase I will include seven STS cranes that feature a 24-container row reach. The on-dock intermodal rail facility will be the largest of its kind in any Latin American port, officials said.

"Lazaro Cardenas TEC2 will be the most technologically advanced container terminal in Latin America, and we are very proud to be a part of Mexico's ongoing growth as a major world trading partner and global logistics hub," said APM Terminals Mexico's Managing Director J.D. Nielsen.