In May 2022, the Línea del Plata company inaugurated in the port of Juan Lacaze, with the presence of the President of the Republic, Luis Lacalle Pou, the cargo transport service of the Expreso del Plata I ship, which links the Sabalero port with that of Buenos Aires. The event was attended by the Mayor of Colonia, Carlos Moreira, and other political leaders.
In a protocol ceremony outside the ship, Deacon Alejandro Corajais blessed the vessel while Lorena Ponce de León, godmother of the Expreso del Plata I, broke a bottle of champagne on the ship’s hull. In his speech, President Lacalle Pou thanked entrepreneurs for taking risks and turning dreams into reality. He also highlighted the historical importance of Uruguay as a port and the role it will play in the future in the development of new business initiatives.
A few months after the celebration, on December 1, Efecom announced the temporary suspension of the truck cargo transportation service between the ports of Juan Lacaze and Buenos Aires due to commercial problems. The measure was taken to develop a business strategy that would consolidate the company’s place in the market.
The mayor of Colonia, Carlos Moreira, told local media that the cargo service of the lacazina company has been “boycotted from Buenos Aires.” According to him, Argentine “private actors” “discourage” and “put pressure” on trucking companies so that they do not use this means of transport to move merchandise to both sides of the Río de la Plata.
In March 2023, the head of the port of Colonia del Sacramento, Luis Fontes, said that Efecom “does not plan to resume operations” in the port of Juan Lacaze and that “it is looking to try to carry out an operation that can serve” the interests of that company, but what “rules out resuming the operation between Juan Lacaze and Buenos Aires”.
The route from Juan Lacaze to Buenos Aires is not resumed
The reopening of the cargo service in the port of Juan Lacaze had been a strong claim by local political and social actors who were trying to find new job opportunities for the population in light of the closure of the paper and textile industries that occurred in 2016. These mobilizations determined that the National Ports Administration (ANP) will develop an investment process in the Sabalero port, which until now has not given the results expected by the local inhabitants.
The company Efecom, belonging to important figures of the Uruguayan business community, had raised its interest in building a cargo ship since 2018 to cover the route between Juan Lacaze and Buenos Aires. The process, affected by the pandemic, took place more slowly than planned. The company hopes to be able to find a solution that allows it to resume operations in the future.
