ATI moves 201,000t at Antofagasta port in June

Consortium Antofagasta Terminal Internacional (ATI) moved 201,000t of cargo at Chile's northern Region II Antofagasta port, a spokesperson for state-owned port company EPA told BNamericas. The cargo moved by ATI, which began operations of berth 2 (sites 3-7) March 1 after winning a 20-year concession contract, falls within the expected cargo movement parameters, said the official, adding that berth 1 - still operated by EPA - moved some 44,500t in June. ATI, made up of Sudamericana de Agencias Aereas y Maritimas (SAAM) and Inmobiliaria Sudamericana, submitted the winning bid in January and will invest US$18mn to modernize the port; purchase equipment and machinery to improve operational efficiency; and build a storage facility for mineral concentrates. SAAM belongs to Chile's Claro group and already operates at three of Chile's four ports under concession. Regarding the US$18mn investment plan, the spokesperson said that ATI has submitted the EIS to national environment authority Conama for the mineral concentrates facility (US$3mn-US$3.5mn), with approval expected in the coming months and operations slated to begin by mid-2004. The remainder of the investment will go towards improving the berthing areas, including increasing draught to some 12.5m from the current 11.3m, added the spokesperson. Antofagasta port will focus on mineral shipments, and along with neighboring ports Mejillones and Tocopilla, will make the region a major port zone and increase northern Chile's access to Argentina and Brazil via the Tropic of Capricorn bi-oceanic corridor. The port moved a record 3.26Mt of cargo in 2002, a 7.2% increase from 2001. In December, Antofagasta became the first of Chile's 10 state-owned ports to receive ISO 9001 certification.