New Port Terminal Begins Operations in Santiago de Cuba

This pier, executed in three years by Chinese and Cuban specialists, was erected on 142 piles buried at a depth of 26 meters protected with concrete.

Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Rodrigo Malmierca, announced in his Twitter account that the work was developed with a credit from China and stressed that ‘it will increase the country’s port efficiency.’

In statements to the Cuban News Agency, José Antonio Olivares, director of the port of Santiago de Cuba, said the terminal started its operations yesterday with the arrival of a container ship as part of the start-up process for its next inauguration.

Olivares stressed that it is equipped with modern technology, which will allow that dock to raise its quality standards to levels of other ports in the region.

Among the advantages, he cited the decrease in payment per stay by incorporating two warehouses with a capacity of up to 20 thousand tons as temporary deposits for quick unloading.

The payment of freights will also decrease because the ships will not have to go through Havana or Cienfuegos first.

Another benefit is the automation in the control of operations in real time, which allows monitoring 24 hours each process and movement within the terminal, which when full capacity multiply operations and performance.

The installation, rated as the most important in the eastern area in the last 40 years, has an X-ray ship that protects it from all types of traffic and the lighting is with LED technology with a consumption below 30 percent of the current .

Walter Niuvó, an investor on the Cuban side, explained that they can handle five thousand tons a day.