The possibility of having a port for cruise ships –an old wish of different political actors– was back on the public agenda, and from the National Ports Administration (ANP) they are studying various locations in Maldonado.
Although the authorities of the Departmental Administration of Maldonado and the ANP met in the port of Piriápolis, the place where the port could be installed, Juan Curbelo, president of the ANP, reported to Coffee & Business that there are two other options on the horizon, both in Punta del Este: Las Delicias (at stop 24 on Mansa beach) and Punta del Chileno (at stop 42).
“The intention to build a berth (for cruise ships) is unanimous if we want to grow the industry”said Curbelo, who assured that in Punta del Este there are two difficulties for the cruise sector.
In this seaside resort, the second national destination to which the most cruise ships arrive per season, after Montevideo, there is no place where these ships can dock, which is why they remain in the bay.
Passengers who get off cruise ships to get to know Punta del Este must do so in small boats called tenders, and this means that when there is bad weather, the stopovers are suspended, and also, not all passengers choose to descend.
35% of the passengers who arrive in Punta del Este on cruise ships do not go down to the coast.
They don’t come ashore
Martin Laventure, director of Tourism of the Municipality of Maldonado, informed Coffee & Business that last season –in which 60 cruise ships arrived in Punta del Este– 35% of the passengers did not go down to the coast, therefore, they did not spend money in the department.
“The Administration has long identified the need to improve the infrastructure that has to do with the arrival of cruise ships,” he said.
Mayor Enrique Antía identified that The place that meets the best conditions, due to depth and logistical and operational reasons for this work, is Piriápolissaid Laventure, although “it was always in the plane of desire.”
The mayor’s office is waiting for the ANP studies, which will determine the best place to carry out the work and how much it will cost. Once that is known, it will be defined how it will be paid.
Financing for the project has not yet been discussed, the director said. “We do not know what amount we are talking about, and it is not a matter of strict municipal spring, it belongs to the national government, it has to do with the National Administration of Ports, the Ministry of Transport and Public Works, the Ministry of Tourism can intervene and it can there may be interested private companies”, he commented, adding that he wants to “go step by step”.
During the visit to the port of Piriápolis, Antía expressed that one must “work with one’s feet on the ground” so as not to generate expectations ahead of time.
The ANP and IDM authorities will meet again in a month to discuss the results.
an unfinished work
The president of the ANP stressed that last cruise season was the best in eight years and that for the next one there are very good expectations. In the 2022-2023 season, more than 160 cruise ships arrived in the country12.7% more than in 2019-2020, according to data from the Ministry of Tourism (Mintur). The largest to have arrived in Uruguay, the MSC Seaviewof 450,000 m2, arrived in Montevideo last December; and another of the highlights was a cruise for swingerswhich arrived in Punta del Este in January.
Most arrived at the Port of Montevideo, where up to four cruise ships docked at the same time last season, highlighted Curbelo, who said that something similar is expected to happen next season.
He recognized that different alternatives have been thought of to improve the arrival of tourists to that port, and that an infrastructure is necessary, and stressed that currently those who get off cruise ships use the Buquebus terminal to carry out procedures, such as check-in. .
Ines Guimaraens
At the launch of the 2019-2020 cruise season, the then Minister of Tourism, Liliam Kechichian, announced the intention that in 2020 the Port of Montevideo incorporate a cruise terminal where the headquarters of the Mintur works, portfolio that would move to Ciudad Vieja, to a building bought by the ministry. But that didn’t happen.
Remo Monzeglio, undersecretary of the Mintur, told Coffee & Business that although the MINTUR office had been planned to move, when the new authorities took office, the work “was completely raw, the walls were there and a series of installations had to be made that would cost a significant sum of millions of dollars. And at that time, the pandemic having exploded, it was decided not to continue with that expense.”
In addition, he commented that putting the Ciudad Vieja building up for sale was discussed, although what to do has not yet been decided. “Here we are very comfortable and the (passengers of the) cruise ships go down without any problem,” he added, noting that transit within the port has been ordered.
other attempts
In June 2022 the government carried out a call for public tender for the Mauá dam to become a port terminal for passengers, following an initiative by the Berkes company in conjunction with Corporación América –current concessionaire of the Carrasco International Airport–, a work that would require an investment of US$ 400 million, but at the same time final, the project was scrapped.
In March of this year, the Minister of Transportation, José Luis Falero, confirmed to The Observer, that will analyze with the technical team of the ministry other alternatives for next summer.
“We all agree that the ideal is for cruise ships to arrive at an exclusive place, outside the port, which is also growing more and more and has more movement,” Monzeglio said, adding: “We would like tomorrow to have a specific port for cruise ships, but for now the State cannot do it and those who have had the idea and the projects to do so have encountered discouraging obstacles”.
