The visit to Cuba of Chinese President Xi Jinping made official, among multiple agreements, the granting by the Asian part of a concessional credit line for the construction of a multipurpose terminal in the port of Santiago de Cuba.
The trade agreement was signed in Beijing in March this year, by the Business Group of the Cuban Port Industry (ASPORT) and the Chinese company Communications Construction Co. Ltd. (CHEC). The multipurpose terminal is the first project that the company undertakes in the Caribbean nation.
The agreement will multiply the ability to loading and unloading of vessels and significantly accelerate business operations in Santiago Bay, close to sea routes involving hundreds of ships coming from the Panama Canal or on their way to it, and also moving through the ports of Central and South America, reports the weekly Opciones.
With the construction of the terminal they will renew the front part of the pier that will reach 200 meters long and three gantry cranes will be installed to streamline services, according to Leonardo Oyarzabal Naranjo, director of the Oriente Port Services Company.
An open space for receiving containers with equipment for lifting, traction and transport will also be created, plus two covered warehouses.
The investment, which will exceed $ 100 million, includes the dredging at the landing area to reach 11 meters in depth to improve access to the dock, so the ships up to 40,000 tons of displacement will be able to enter the bay which exceed a maximum of 25,000 of those operating today.
From Santiago harbor they will build land routes to the rest of the country by rail and road, as part of a project that integrates the construction of a modern system of weighing loads and facilities for administrations.
Following these works, Santiago de Cuba will have the second deep-water port of the island, where the port of Mariel, west of Havana, opened in the month of January, which is the center of the first Development Special Zone in the country.
