Halcrow expertise helped shape the development of a mega transhipment terminal (MTA) on Costa Rica’s Atlantic coast. The company’s involvement spanned initial concept stages through to feasibility studies on behalf of the project sponsor, AMEGA.
Halcrow provided a range of services, including site selection and evaluation, conceptual master planning of the terminal, and capital and operating cost estimates, as well as technical advice on primary infrastructural elements. The project was managed from Halcrow’s New York office.
This specialised facility is designed to transfer containerised cargo between large, long-haul vessels and smaller ships which call at regional ports. As well as generating between 5,000 and 7,000 new jobs during the construction phase, the MTA will employ 1,000 skilled workers once operational.
Initially, the £425 million MTA will comprise a deep-water port and associated facilities with an annual capacity of 2 million TEU (standard 20ft cargo containers), with the potential to double capacity over the next decade.
As the regional shipping industry continues to evolve, the MTA could underpin a proposed £4.25 billion ‘dry canal’ – a high-capacity railway linking transhipment terminals on Costa Rica’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts, crossing the central American isthmus at its lowest altitude.
AMEGA’s exclusive right to develop the project was confirmed by the Costa Rican government in 2009, following a 2007 private initiative request to construct and operate the MTA.