Blessing to site 4 expansion opening

Date: July 2010

In a ceremony attended by regional authorities, executives, and port representatives, Iquique Terminal Internacional celebrated its 10th anniversary the blessing and the official opening the berthing site 4 expansions.

On the occasion, ITI Chairman, Alejandro Garcia-Huidobro, asserted "Our commitment to the First Region goes beyond the present, and that is why today we proudly open [for operations] our expansion project which places us on the forefront in Northern Chile as a terminal ready [to receive] deep draft vessels."

The executive noted the major projects the company will complete during 2010. “The site 4 extension of 69 meters is important because it allows the docking of vessels of greater length, which is the current trend in the shipping industry [, and by this] ensuring that our port of Iquique becomes part of the most important shipping routes in the world. “He said.

Garcia-Huidobro also pointed out that this initiative would allow the seismic retrofit of site 3 “foreseeing future contingencies,” he continues,” The idea is that all of our piers and yards have anti-seismic characteristics. This investment demanded an amount close to USD$15 million."

Garcia-Huidobro also emphasized the future vision that the company had to have to execute these investments because they were carried out in a particularly difficult time, as it was in 2009, which ended with a terminal decline in the container movement of 32 percent.

Since the grant was awarded this port in northern Chile, ITI has invested USD$50 million.

Finally, the executive issued a call to the regional authorities to join the challenge of opening new markets to ensure the development of the First Region and avoid excessive dependence on specific markets.

"The high dependence on specific markets, such as Bolivia, is definitely a weakness not only to the port and free zone system, but also for the region as a whole," he said.

He added that to explore other markets "requires the coordination of public and private efforts. There are millions of tons in the Central West of Brazil, which need alternatives and as a region we must offer an attractive [port] option" he said.

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