Splash247: Neltume pitches $900m Montevideo container terminal

Published by Splash247

Neltume Ports has formally submitted plans for a $900m new container terminal at the Port of Montevideo, days after ending its long-running $600m arbitration against Uruguay.

The privately initiated project, filed with the government under the name Montevideo Container Terminal (MCT), would add capacity for up to 1.15m teu a year at the Uruguayan gateway.

Neltume’s plan calls for around 940 m of quay, sufficient to handle two latest-generation post-panamax vessels simultaneously, together with a dedicated berth for barge transshipment. The terminal would occupy around 38 ha and have independent landside access.

The company said the proposal has been formally submitted to the Presidency for evaluation. No concession structure, construction timetable or proposed opening date has yet been disclosed. Neltume estimates the construction phase could support around 1,800 jobs.

The proposal would give Montevideo another specialised container facility alongside Terminal Cuenca del Plata (TCP), where Belgium’s Katoen Natie holds an 80% stake and Uruguay’s port authority the remaining 20%.

Neltume is already deeply embedded at the port through Montecon, the main operator on Montevideo’s public docks. Montecon describes itself as part of Neltume Ports, whose shareholders are Chilean maritime group Ultramar and Canada’s ATCO. Neltume’s corporate site says ATCO entered its ownership with a 40% stake in 2018.

The investment pitch comes immediately after Neltume drew a line under its dispute with the Uruguayan state. Splash Ports reported this month that the company had abandoned a $600m ICSID claim without compensation. The case followed Uruguay’s 2021 decision to extend TCP’s concession by 50 years to 2081 in return for an investment commitment of around $455m.

Uruguay’s presidency confirmed on September 4 that Neltume had irrevocably withdrawn the arbitration and that neither Neltume, Montecon nor related companies would bring further proceedings over the same underlying dispute. A separate ATCO arbitration has not yet been formally closed.