Building of Santiago de Cuba’s New Seaport Terminal Underway
The first steps to build the new multipurpose terminal at the Guillermón Moncada Port, in Santiago de Cuba City, are being taken with research works at the 10-hectare area located west of this city in eastern Cuba.
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This is all about an industrial development zone, funded by the People’s Republic of China, in line with the process to bring to the economic model up to date and foster foreign investment in Cuba’s second-most important seaport.
Juan Guerra, main investor, explained that they count on a 120-million-dollar loan given by the Chinese government without any condition, and the contractor is CHEC, managed by China Communications Consortium Company Limited (CCCC), which is in charge of the design, acquiring the equipment and building the project.
The project aims at building – in three years – a multifunctional wharf with cutting-edge technology, capable of processing vessels up to 40 thousand tons (t) on a 231.15 meter-long pier, with three cranes, two roofed warehouses and an outdoor area for containers.
According to the conditions of the access channel, vessels carrying 20 thousand tons can now dock there, however, after the bay is dredged up to 13.6 meters it will have the capacity to harbor cargo ships with 40 thousand tons, which entails processing nearly 565 thousand tons of merchandise a year, Guerra explained.
The first delegation of Chinese experts is already on the field and, along with Cuban specialists, they are going to start drilling both in land and sea by late January.
Engineer Wan Zhong Xi, a topographer with the Project Company of Beijing, praised the project and highlighted the investment as a show of friendship ties between his country and Cuba, as well as the consolidation of socialism as a system.
Ernesto Aguilera, a member of the Construction Applied Research Company, detailed the geological characterization of the site in line with the design for the foundation-laying process, as they are presently reanalyzing the cove, moving the equipment and reviewing the laboratories.
Leonardo Naranjo, director of the Eastern Port Service Company, pointed out that the enclave will be an efficient space to foster the exportation of assets and services from the five eastern provinces and Camagüey, and favor the substitution of imports by means of a constant relation between international markets and the domestic economy.
The executive mentioned that the project also involves social infrastructure, a forked rail branch line to move the cargo and state-of-the-art equipment, including roll trailers and hopper wagons.
This investment complements this city’s industrial development to improve the operations.
Likewise, works are being carried out to build a maritime and recreational promenade with the finest view of the Caribbean Sea, one of the projects planned to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the village’s foundation, in July 2015.
