Rosario Port Concession

Cancelled

International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) in March 1998 won a 30-year contract to operate the Rosario Port in Argentina (excluding the grain terminal). US$146 million was to be paid over the life of the contract while US$76 million was to be used for additional investments. The port was to be upgraded in order to handle containers, vehicles, and refrigerators. The Port of Rosario was composed of two terminals, Terminals 1 and 2. Both terminals occupied 66 hectares with a 1,500-meter berth. The port had experienced an increase in cargo traffic; in 1994, the port handled 1,186,298 tons while in 1995 and 1996, volumes exceeded 2.6 million tons. The port was formally turned over to Puerto Rosario S.A. on June 2, 1998. Labor strikes in 1998 and 1999 rendered the port practically inoperable. In April 2000, the government cancelled the concession contract it had signed with ICTSI, alleging that the private sponsor failed to meet concession payments and had fired a large number of workers. The government granted a new concession contract in 2001. In October 2001, a Spanish-Argentinean consortium won the contract to operate the terminal at Rosario port over a 30-year concession. The consortium was made up of Spain's Tarragona Port Authority, Argentina's SGA, Fruport, Losster Company, Naviera del Odiel, Silos de Tarragona and Obrascon Huarte Lain. The consortium agreed to pay Euro168,283 per month to operate the terminal (about $2 million annualized). It invested $4.9 million in 2002, and under the terms of the concession, was to invest at least 1.8 million Argentina Pesos (in 2002, about US$ 500,000) annually in the port. SGA Group is the local representative of companies: LOSSTER COMPANY S.A., CEMENTOS GOLIAT S.L., FRUPORT S.A., NAVIERA DEL ODIEL S.A., SILOS DE TARRAGONA S.A., OBRASCON HUARTE LIAN S.A., y TARRAGONA PORT SERVICES S.A. None