SAAM, the port, towage and logistics firm, has taken 100% control of Chile’s fifth largest port Iquique Terminal Internacional (ITI).
The Santiago-based company said it had acquired the outstanding 15% in ITI from Grupo de Empresas Navieras (GEN) for $11.05m.
“This transaction is part of our growth strategy. Since we are already familiar with and operate the asset, the deal reaffirms our commitment to ITI and its employees,”remarked SAAM chief executive Macario Valdes.
SAAM, which operates 11 port terminals in six countries in the Americas, said it continues to execute its strategy to grow in assets where it controls management.
Similarly, last January it acquired 51% of Costa Rica’s Puerto de Caldera, and it recently announced works to expand 100% owned Terminal Portuario de Guayaquil in Ecuador.
ITI holds the concession at the Port of Iquique, which is the main port in the far north of Chile, until the year 2030.
According to a 2016 ranking by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), it is the fifth most important port in Chile.
The multipurpose terminal provides services mainly to the Iquique Free Trade Zone, Bolivian foreign trade and the mining industry in the Tarapacá Region.
“The importance of northern Chile and trade with neighboring countries lays a foundation for good outlooks and opportunities to consolidate Iquique as the area’s main port for foreign trade,” said Valdes.
ITI has two docks both of which are capable of handling post-panamax vessels. In 2016, it handled 2.3mt and 272,000-teu.
The main cargo transferred during that period included copper, fishmeal, mining equipment, automobiles, retail products and soy.
