Razon-led ICTSI builds cold storage hub in Ecuador
International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) has put up a cold storage facility in a port it operates in Ecuador to support the trade of the world’s top banana exporter.
The Razon-led port operator said that its unit Contecon Guayaquil SA (CGSA) had launched the first on-dock cold storage facility in the European country at the Port of Guayaquil.
CGSA built the hub in partnership with logistics company Cool Carriers to ensure the facility could support “uninterrupted cold chain preservation from cargo reception to shipment, leading to reduced waiting times, optimized processes and a guarantee that the fruits reach their destinations in the best possible condition.”
Ecuador exports bananas amounting to $2.6 billion annually, CGSA noted. Its facility is within 250 kilometers of main banana farms.
“Our cold storage facility not only transforms the way we export but also sets a new standard in the logistics industry,” CGSA CEO Javier Lancha said in a statement.
Last month, the Ecuadorian business unit received the inaugural call of Kota Eagle, the biggest container ship of Pacific International Lines.
CGSA also inked a new commercial agreement for the Asia-South America service a month ago, strengthening its link to the Asian market.
“We will continue driving Ecuador to be synonymous with excellence in fresh produce exports,” Lancha said.
Locally, ICTSI’s Mindanao unit was recently granted 25 years of concession period, or until 2058.
The Razon-led company plans to extend the berth by 300 meters (m), construct more support infrastructure and acquire additional port equipment to boost capacity from the current 350,000 twenty-foot equivalent units.
The 24-hectare (ha) terminal has a container yard spanning 11 ha. It has been serving as the transshipment hub for import and export of goods in northern Mindanao since 2008.
Securing the extended concession period came about nine months after ICTSI had won the 25-year contract to take over and develop the P10.53-billion Visayas Container Terminal (VCT) project in April last year.
ICTSI is rehabilitating the terminal and bringing in more equipment to improve operations at VCT, which has 627 m of operational quay length and 20 ha of land for container and general cargo storage, warehousing and other cargo-handling activities.
