Entre Rios, Cemyc sign Ibicuy port concession contract

Argentine province Entre Rios' port authority Ipper and local construction firm Cemyc have signed a contract whereby Cemyc will operate Ibicuy port for 20 years, a source connected to the process told BNamericas. Cemyc, which submitted the only offer in October, is slated to take over the port's operation in the coming weeks, and has six months from that date to restart operations, said the source. The port has a 32ft (10.3m) draught, and although it has moved an average of 600,000t/y of cargo, principally forestry products and grains, in the past, operations are currently suspended. Ibicuy is on the river of the same name, and considered a strategic port as it is less than 100km from the confluence of the Paraguay and Uruguay rivers, which marks the beginning of the River Plate estuary. Under the contract, Cemyc will pay the province a 10% canon from what it will take in from port user fees. The contract may be extended for 10 years.