MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

New port announced for Río Grande in Tierra del Fuego

”This is a private investment and we are working to accompany them from the Port Authority of the province, Melella said

A new port is to be developed in the Fuegian city of Rio Grande at a cost of US$ 210 million, which will be disbursed by a group of private companies interested in promoting trade in the area, it was reported.

The new development is to be built on an area of more than 200 hectares located on the north coast of Río Grande, according to a report by the National Securities Commission (CNV).

The project seeks “to contribute to the development of the province by strengthening industrial and commercial activities, generating new economic sectors, and allowing the resupply of maritime fleets, among other sectors,” the CNV said.

A consortium of companies will handle all infrastructure works over 14 months, during the summers of 2022 and 2023, which will generate a little over 400 jobs during the construction.

The new terminal is expected to be operational by May 2024, it was announced.

Tierra del Fuego Governor Gustavo Melella was brief on the project during a meeting in Buenos Aires with executives from the companies sponsoring the initiative, although provincial technical teams have been working on the blueprints for over two years, it was explained.

“We are taking firm steps to realize a dream for Río Grande and for the whole province because this infrastructure will be of utmost importance for our port development,” Melella highlighted. He also maintained that the project “will be an integrated solution for the productive and industrial apparatus of Río Grande.”

José Luis Alonso, CEO of Mirgor, one of the companies financing the project, said the new port will develop new opportunities for Tierra del Fuego and in particular for Río Grande and its associated industries.

“Due to its location, this new port infrastructure is a strategic point in all the southern maritime routes, towards the Antarctic territory... ,” Alonso underlined.

The project is the result of a strategic alliance between Mirgor and a Japanese company that will provide the technology transfer and will invest US$ 12 million in 2022; another US$ 4 million in 2023 and the remaining US$ 51 million in 2025.

The company will build a 5,600 m2 production plant in Baradero, Buenos Aires, where it plans to produce 400,000 special parts per year only for its strategic customer Toyota Argentina, but other automotive terminals may join as customers.

This project also incorporates the development of local suppliers, technology transfer to human resources, and the creation of an interdisciplinary team to generate local added value, competitive products that balance current and state-of-the-art technologies, and the generation of exports of special automotive parts to Mercosur and the world.

Currently, 11% of Mirgor's sales consist of auto parts, such as air conditioners and infotainment equipment. The company also manufactures Samsung cell phones and electronic devices in Tierra del Fuego. It has four production plants in Río Grande and 2,500 employees.

Regarding the presentation of the project by the Mirgor Group, Melella admitted the company still needed “to advance in some technical issues” and that “there will be meetings with the Ministry of Transport these days.”

“They have the funds guaranteed, so this is great news for Tierra del Fuego and particularly for the northern area,” the Governor went on.

Melella also explained that “the port is located in Estancia Las Violetas, with a different port infrastructure modality, really modern, very effective, which will give the possibility of what is called a multimodal port, not only for containers but also for hydrocarbons.”

“The province has been working and advancing very well in taking a step, it is going to be a before and after in the industrialization of gas, very important for us, for the generation of more jobs and it is going to be a 'before and after' for the development of the city,” he added.

“This is a private investment and we are working to accompany them from the Port Authority of the province. There are other private investment ports in the country, there is no need to be afraid of private investment, today what the province and the country need is to have development, investments to generate employment,” Melella stressed.

Finally, the Governor said that in the face of “private investment, the State has to provide the necessary conditions for it to work and for it to be profitable in a social sense in the generation of employment.”