Italian shipbuilding giant Fincantieri has clinched a deal to build and operate a new shiprepair and conversion yard in Mexico.
The company said it will also design the facility in Yucatan.
Fincantieri will be granted a 40-year concession for the exclusive management of the new yard.
The group has signed a letter of intent with the ministry of economic development and labour in Yucatan State.
The facility will be built at the port of Progreso.
The project envisages two dry docks, the largest in the Americas, able to take ships of up to 400 metres in length, particularly "complex" cruiseships, large cargo vessels and oil and gas support units.
The yard will also have a lifting platform for units up to 150 metres in length; about 1km of docks; and cranes, workshops, special equipment, offices and warehouses.
Work starting next year
Initially, construction will be carried out by the state government from the first half of 2021.
Fincantieri will step in later with other partners to build the workshops and lifting equipment.
Full operation is estimated in 2027. The yard will have 700 staff on completion.
Fincantieri said Mexico exports close to $400bn of cargo per year, importing around $350bn. Much of this is by sea.
Cruise traffic to rebound?
There is also usually significant cruise traffic along the coasts of the US, in the Caribbean and in the Gulf of Mexico, although the pandemic has halted this for now.
"The new Progreso shipyard will be strategically placed to serve the merchant operators of this area, benefiting from the nearby Yucatan navigation channel, a natural outlet to the Atlantic Ocean," the shipbuilder said.
The Italian shipbuilder saw revenue drop by 16% to €3.5bn for the first nine months of the year. That is down from €4.2bn in the same period last year, due to lower production resulting from the impact of Covid-19.
