FILIPINO OPERATOR ICTSI, FLUOR TO BID FOR PUERTO RICAN PORT DEVELOPMENT

FILIPINO OPERATOR ICTSI, FLUOR TO BID FOR PUERTO RICAN PORT DEVELOPMENT    A consortium comprising Filipino terminal operator International Container Terminal Services, Inc. and the construction group Fluor Corp. has filed documents to qualify for the bidding for the development and operation of the “Port of the Americas” project in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
   The consortium is the third group that is bidding for the port project, alongside PSA Corp. — the operator of the port of Singapore — and a consortium that includes the former CSX Lines (now Horizon Lines) and the port of Rotterdam.
   The authorities in Puerto Rico will select the future port operator for the port project next year.
   The “Port of the Americas” is currently in the final process of obtaining environmental permits. It expects to have all the necessary permits by the end of the year to allow the dredging of the Ponce canal to begin in January.
   The port will be in operation early in 2005, with a capacity to handle between 200,000 and 300,000 TEUs in its phase one stage. With its second and third phases completed, the port will have a total capacity of 1.5 million TEUs a year, and will be able to handle “super post-Panamax” ships.