The National Port Administration (ANP) accepted the proposal made by the Paraguayan shipowner Independencia Shipping Lines (ISL) to build a ramp to operate a regular roll-on/roll-off service from the port of Juan Lacaze to the port of Buenos Aires, under the work-for-fee modality. This option consists of the firm “carrying out the work necessary for its operation and, while it uses it, the investment is discounted from other port fees,” explained its owner, Alberto Díaz, according to the statement.
The agency's resolution, dated July 17, states that this modality allows for streamlining the administrative process in contrast to the average time taken for a bidding process and would not imply an immediate expenditure by the administration, since the costs would be covered by the company.
«To make this more feasible, we authorized the company to operate provisionally in the port of Colonia for a maximum period of 90 days, starting from the ANP's approval of the executive project for the works to be carried out. This is provided that during this period no other interested party arises to provide a similar service. In this case, a competitive process would be proposed that could include a call for bids for prices," explained Díaz.
According to the resolution approved by the port authority, ISL stated that it is in a position to begin operations immediately at the facilities of the port of Colonia, until the progress of the infrastructure works in Juan Lacaze, promoted by the ANP, allows it to receive the ship Índigo 1, which the company acquired to cover the service.
The ship, which has been docked in the port of Montevideo since last May, was built in 1990, is 125 metres long, 20 metres wide and has a capacity for 60 trucks.
Díaz told the Secretariat of Institutional Communication that the sector granted to begin operations in Colonia is south of the overseas dock, which is inactive.
Artworks
The works approved to ISL in Juan Lacaze They include the conditioning in the area adjacent to the gravity wall, by means of the realizationtion of a ramp 25 metres wide and 15 metres long towards the west.
Currently, at the Juan Lacaze site, the construction company Saceem is working on a new dock heel that will allow operations with roll-on/roll-off vessels, known as Ro-Ro (an acronym for the English term roll on-roll off).
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