Neltume Ports investment and legal developments in Uruguay

Neltume Ports and the Uruguayan state resolved a legal dispute by agreeing to withdraw an arbitration case before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The settlement was reached “without conditions” and “with prejudice,” meaning Neltume Ports and its affiliates will not initiate future legal actions regarding the same facts. Under the agreement, Uruguay assumes no responsibility or compensation regarding claims originating from economic disputes related to the extension of the Terminal Cuenca del Plata concession.

Following this resolution, Neltume Ports formally presented a proposal to the Uruguayan government to invest approximately US$ 900 million to develop the Montevideo Container Terminal (MCT). The project aims to expand the Port of Montevideo’s capacity to handle up to 1,150,000 TEUs annually through 940 meters of berthing space and 38 hectares of operational surface. The initiative is intended to position Uruguay as a logistics platform for the Southern Cone and is estimated to generate 1,800 jobs during construction.

However, Katoen Natie, the Belgian company controlling 80% of Terminal Cuenca del Plata (TCP), has threatened to initiate international arbitration through ICSID if the government accepts the Neltume Ports proposal. Katoen Natie argues that a second terminal would undermine the economic viability of its own US$ 600 million expansion project and violate legal stability clauses. The company claims a competing terminal should only be authorized once TCP reaches 85% capacity for two consecutive years. Fernando Correa, Institutional Relations Manager at Katoen Natie, noted that any new legal claim could be significantly larger than the company’s previous US$ 1.5 billion litigation against the State.