Within the next few weeks, courts in Costa Rica will decide the fate of the APM Terminals’ Moín port development plan, which has a scheduled investment of nearly US$1B.

Opposition to the concession has come from the country’s influential banana producers, who are worried that it will result in higher export costs for their products.

The CNB Cámara Nacional de Bananeros (National Banana Shippers’ Chamber of Commerce) filed a lawsuit in March. This was rejected in April, but opposition to the terms of the concession has continued.

The APMT port project is supported by the government, which insists that it will be a modern and efficient facility. At the moment, Moín can accommodate only small vessels, which the government argues will ultimately result in higher handling costs given the impossibility to dredge this part of the coast.

The only way of circumventing draft restrictions is to build the proposed new Moín Container Terminal (TCM), says transport minister Francisco Jiménez.

However, although the banana producers are not against the port per se, they believe that there has been a lack of environmental and financial viability studies, which could result in APMT having eventually to hike prices.

The terminal operator will charge US$223/20ft, whereas the present cost can oscillate between US$40 and US$180 based on the current annual export traffic amounting to 67,000 containers.

Banana exporters under the new arrangement will also lose preferential access to the quayside and also priority berthing for their own ships.

APMT will also assume all handling duties, some of which are currently undertaken by third party stevedoring companies.

One third of all bananas will remain as breakbulk cargo and will still be able to use the old port.

• Official responsibility for the administration and management of Terminal Muelle Norte, (the North Terminal) at the Port of Callao, Peru, has now been officially assumed by APMT. According to the company, tariff charges will be reduced by 15%-18% per the terms of the concession, bringing immediate cost savings to the terminal’s customers. “This is a great day for us, and for the Port of Callao and Peru,” said APMT Callao’s MD Henrik Kristensen.