Splash247: Neltume drops $600m Uruguay port arbitration

Published by Splash247

Uruguay has settled a $600m international arbitration brought by Neltume Ports over the Port of Montevideo, with the Chilean group abandoning its claim without receiving compensation from the state.

Uruguay’s presidency said Neltume and the government had agreed to terminate the case before the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, or ICSID. Neltume filed the action in April 2024 on its own behalf and on behalf of Montecon, its terminal business in Montevideo.

Under the settlement, Neltume has irrevocably withdrawn all claims against Uruguay. Neltume, Montecon and related companies have also agreed not to launch future proceedings over the same underlying dispute.

Uruguay has accepted no liability and will pay no compensation or assume any additional obligations under the agreement, the government said.

The dispute followed a major reshaping of container operations at Montevideo. In 2021, Uruguay extended the concession of Terminal Cuenca del Plata, controlled by Belgium’s Katoen Natie, by 50 years to 2081 in return for a commitment to invest around $455m in the specialist container terminal.

Neltume and Atco, both investors in Montecon, subsequently launched separate ICSID cases against Uruguay. The government and Montecon suspended proceedings in August 2025 while negotiations took place, with the standstill extended again in January this year.

The Neltume case is now closed, although the separate Atco arbitration remains outstanding. Uruguay said it expects that dispute to be resolved along similar lines.