SMITCO is a joint venture between SSA International and Sociedad Portuaria de Santa Marta to manage, operate and promote the container terminal at the Port of Santa Marta witha total investment of USD 20million in new equipment. In addition, it is investing USD 25million in civil works.
The two new container cranes and the four RTGs meet all the environmental requirements of the Sociedad Portuaria de Santa Marta, as they require less energy and emit less exhaust pollutants than conventional port equipment. This brings an ecological benefit for using electrical equipment in comparison with diesel-powered equipment. There are savings in emissions of greenhouse gases, fuel economy, noise reduction, among other advantages.
The introduction of new cargo handling equipment and an improved facility ensures better operational productivity and a competitive advantage for the handling of containerised cargo in Santa Marta. In addition, the new terminal will bring more container handling capacity to the country. Current annual capacity is 100,000 TEU, but phase one – once completed – will increase this to 300,000 TEU by the third quarter of this year. When phase two is completed this will be increased to 420,000 TEU.