The container port of Buenos Aires in the

mega-ship era

Draft Discussion Paper 2017

Prepared for the Roundtable on

Container Port Systems of the Future

10-11 April 2017, Buenos Aires

Olaf Merk

International Transport Forum, OECD, Paris, France

Disclaimer: This paper has been submitted by the author for discussion at an ITF Roundtable. It draws on

substantial contributions by Julie Lannou. Valuable comments on a draft version of this paper were provided by

Stephen Perkins, Trevor Heaver, Dario Gonzalez, Andreas Meyer and Antonio Zuidwijk. Content and format have

not been reviewed or edited by ITF and are the sole responsibility of the author. The paper is made available as a

courtesy to Roundtable participants to foster discussion and scientific exchange. A revised version will be published

in the ITF Discussion Papers series after the Roundtable.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PERFORMANCE OF THE CONTAINER PORT OF BUENOS AIRES ...................................................... 4

Outlook of the container port of Buenos Aires ............................................................................................ 4 Performance of the port of Buenos Aires..................................................................................................... 9

Maritime connections ............................................................................................................................... 9 Port operations.......................................................................................................................................... 9 Hinterland connectivity .......................................................................................................................... 11

FUTURE REQUIREMENTS FOR CONTAINER PORTS.......................................................................... 13

Container ship size ..................................................................................................................................... 13 Industry consolidation and alliances .......................................................................................................... 17 Future trade projections ............................................................................................................................. 13 Regional port competition .......................................................................................................................... 18

POLICIES TO ADAPT TO FUTURE REQUIREMENTS .......................................................................... 20

Current policies .......................................................................................................................................... 20 Container terminal capacity.................................................................................................................... 21 Hinterland connectivity .......................................................................................................................... 21

How well are policies adapted to future requirements? ............................................................................. 22 Suggestions for policy................................................................................................................................ 23

REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................................. 26

NOTES .......................................................................................................................................................... 28

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PERFORMANCE OF THE CONTAINER PORT OF BUENOS AIRES

The port of Buenos Aires is the main container port of the country, handling 85% of the nations

containers. The port is the main cargo entry point for the province of Buenos Aires, where most of

Argentinas population, economic activity and manufacturing activity is concentrated. The province alone

accounts for 37% of the national exports, but the port plays a role for the whole country, with hinterlands

that extend to many other parts of Argentina. What are the characteristics of this port? How does it

perform, and what are its main challenges? These are the questions that this chapter will answer.

Outlook of the container port of Buenos Aires

The port of Buenos Aires is very urban. It is located on the River Plate surrounded by the

agglomeration of Buenos Aires, home to around 14 million people. Buenos Aires accounts for one third of

Argentinas population, with a density of 5 000 people per km2. Since the port reforms in the 1990s, the

port of Buenos Aires consists of two parts: Puerto Nuevo and Dock Sud, which have separate locations and

institutional structures.1 Puerto Nuevo is inserted in the north-east of a very central urban area, at the heart

of the city, the core of offices, government and financial institutions. Further south is Dock Sud, located

outside the boundaries of the city of Buenos Aires, and more industrial in character, but still part of the

larger agglomeration of Buenos Aires (Figure 1). The port reforms of the 1990s

Figure 1: Buenos Aires and its two ports

Source: ITF/OECD elaboration

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The port is located upstream in the River Plate (Rio de la Plata) estuary. It is a shallow estuary with

depths that mostly range from 3 to 5 metres. In order to access it, ships need to navigate in a 239 km long

access channel, which is limited in depth and width, to a greater or lesser extent depending on the specific

part of the channel (Figure 2). The last few kilometres of the channel, the Canal Norte leading to Porto

Nuevo and Canal Sur leading to Dock Sud, are the most constrained parts of the channel, with around 60-

80 metres width and 9.75 metres depth. The access channels in the River Plate need dredging, which is

carried out by the company Hidrovia S.A. that dredges the main channels (Emilio Mitre, Acceso,

Intermedio and Punta Indio), which is covered by tolls from the passing cargo ships. The North and South

channels are subject to tenders by each port (Puerto Nuevo and Dock Sud) and there is no direct toll on

them. The constraint of depth and related dredging costs distinguishes the port of Buenos Aires from the

Uruguayan port of Montevideo that is located further downstream and in particular from the Brazilian port

of Santos that has deep sea access.

Figure 2: The River Plate Estuary and its ports

Source: ITF/OECD