The plan of the Secretary of the Navy (Semar) to promote multimodal transport as a trigger for logistics development in Mexico is still underway, so before the end of the year a new merchant marine law will be presented and talks with the General Administration of Customs to make ports more efficient, said Captain María Abarca, executive director of Maritime Priority Projects.
During the 22nd edition of the freight transport forum, organized by the National Association of Private Transport (ANTP), the representative of the General Coordination of Ports and Merchant Marine said that one of the objectives is for Mexican shipping companies to have more ships with Mexican flag and be able to dedicate them to this reactivation project that will help the national economy.
“We want to bet on maritime transport because it is cleaner, it reduces road accidents, we can load trucks onto the ferries and save thousands of kilometers, in addition to having fewer polluting emissions, because it complements multimodal routes when used in the right section and with the right volume. right,” he commented.
During his presentation, Abarca said that during the current administration the issue of maritime highways is sought to be consolidated, which requires updating regulations and modernizing infrastructures.
Before transport businessmen, he added: The project consists of three axes: cabotage, which is to promote cargo between the ports of Mexico, because Mexican ports are made for foreign trade and therefore cabotage cargo has to pass through the specialized. In this we are working with Customs.
“Another point is short-distance transportation in Mesoamerica, where we collaborate with ten other countries and Mexico has the presidency. In addition, there is the plan with the United States, which involves Florida so that the Gulf ports can have customs and facilitation agreements so that the cargo flows freely, ”he added.
Among the strategic ports for the project (without ceasing to support the consolidated ones such as Lázaro Cárdenas, Veracruz, Tampico or Manzanillo) are: Matamoros, Dos Bocas, Progreso (which is a strategic infrastructure for the entry of products to the Peninsula and to comply with the needs generated by tourism), Seybaplaya (which has the possibility of expanding to serve more products for the oil industry), Puerto Chiapas and Puerto Morelos.
It is an effort that generates benefits for the country, he commented, which is why from its facilities in Mexico City they are willing to receive comments that add to having the ports more commercially open and that multimodal transport that pays at one best connectivity in our country. Regarding the Interoceanic Corridor, he recalled that the agency’s participation has become strategic.
