Hutchison Ports embraced the Papalote Children’s Museum ‘s motto : touch, learn, and play . In a setting designed for technological immersion, Hutchison’s clients and strategic partners literally experienced firsthand the infrastructure development and solutions it offers in the country.

Jorge Magno Lecona, CEO of Hutchison Ports Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean, reviewed the company’s 30-year presence in the country, consolidating a solid presence in both the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico, with accumulated investments of 70 billion pesos.

Lecona’s message carried a high level of gratitude to the clients, but also a commitment, “in the next five years we are going to invest 25 billion pesos, and with that, in the entire port system we have invested around 70 billion pesos in current pesos over these 30 years,” he asserted.

The executive considered that the investments are intended to consolidate the best logistics and port infrastructure in Mexico, but these funds also serve to modernize operations, “we are going to be much more predictive and we are going to be improving the technology we offer to customers.”

During a tour of the screens displaying Hutchison Ports’ infrastructure in Mexico, Gabriela Navas, Commercial Manager of Hutchison Ports LTC , and Diana Cadena, Commercial Manager of Hutchison Ports ICAVE , acknowledged the trust shown by customers and how the group’s investments seek to strengthen relationships.

“Trust is built every day through consistency, results, and a close working relationship with you. And it is precisely this trust that we want to strengthen today with each of you, not just as a concept, but as a reality that interacts in every operation to deliver results,” emphasized Gabriela Navas.

Meanwhile, Diana Cadena described Hutchison’s network connecting the Pacific with the Gulf of Mexico as “reflecting an integrated vision of logistics in today’s environment. This network isn’t designed as isolated points, but as a coordinated system that works together to deliver results for you and to face the future.”

The executives emphasized the focus on modernizing operations and the constant evolution of Hutchison Ports’ terminals in the country, with the aim of delivering results for their customers and preparing for a more dynamic business environment.

“This evolution wouldn’t make sense if it weren’t directly connected to all of you, because beyond infrastructure and installed capacity, what we’re really looking for is to build long-term, valuable relationships. And that’s where our focus is very clear: to be your strategic partners,” Diana Cadena explained.

At the end of the speeches, the stage became an interactive environment where Hutchison’s strategic partners were able to have an in-depth look at the infrastructure and service solutions , allowing them to identify areas of opportunity and further consolidate these long-term relationships.

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El cargo Hutchison Summit: Trust, Engagement, and Technology in Interaction apareció primero en T21.

In Veracruz, history has never been mere scenery: it’s a driving force that continues to propel the port forward. That’s why, when Hutchison Ports ICAVE decided to celebrate its first 30 years of operation, it opted not for a traditional corporate retrospective, but for an exercise in critical reflection. The result was “Veracruz, Port of Centuries,” a documentary that explores five centuries of maritime activity to understand how the port became a backbone of Mexican foreign trade.

The premiere at Foro Boca brought together the port community, academia, government officials, and business leaders, in a gesture that sought more than just to commemorate a date: to connect past, present, and future around the port’s strategic role. The stage setting underscored the tone of the production: an aesthetic and technical reflection that delves into Veracruz’s logistical identity and its constant process of transformation.

The documentary is structured in six chapters that trace the history of the port from colonial activity in San Juan de Ulúa to its contemporary expansion into Bahía Norte. The collective narrative, featuring historians, specialists, and key figures in the sector, reconstructs the port’s major milestones and the moments when infrastructure, public policy, and global dynamics redefined its course. The arrival of Hutchison Ports ICAVE in 1995 emerges as a turning point that modernized container handling in the Gulf of Mexico.

Among the testimonials, those of Susana Díaz Virgen , general manager of ICAVE, and Jorge Lecona , director of Hutchison Ports in Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean , stand out, who share the vision of the project and its impact for Veracruz.

More than a chronological overview, the piece offers a critical analysis of port development. It highlights technological advancements but also acknowledges the tensions inherent in operating in an environment where commercial interests, regulatory policies, logistical demands, and the expectations of an economy dependent on the constant flow of goods converge. The documentary presents a diverse port community that has sustained this evolution: operators, specialists, technicians, and professionals who embody the port’s transformation.

The production report also underscores ICAVE’s operational leap over three decades: from four hectares to a state-of-the-art terminal with a capacity of 1.3 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) annually , equipped with Super Post Panamax cranes—including automated units—autonomous tractor-trailers, and traceability systems based on RFID, OCR, and real-time monitoring. It’s not just about infrastructure, but a technological ecosystem designed to compete on a global scale.

The documentary also highlights the terminal’s economic importance: handling over 30% of the nation’s containerized cargo, providing thousands of direct and indirect jobs, and representing a cumulative public-private investment exceeding 60 billion pesos. It also addresses the challenge ahead: a sustainability strategy aimed at complete decarbonization by 2050, a goal that necessitates a complete rethinking of the port’s operational and energy model.

With an educational focus, the piece aims to reach schools, universities, and specialized forums, and is positioned as a tool for understanding how maritime history has shaped the country’s economic development. Its value lies in showing that the port is not only defined by container traffic, but by a trajectory that continues to be redefined. In this sense, the production acts as a mirror: it invites us to look at what Veracruz has been, but above all, what it is compelled to become in the face of the new demands of foreign trade.

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El cargo “Port of Centuries”: the documentary that reveals the maritime identity of Veracruz apareció primero en T21.

The history of the Mexican port system cannot be understood without the role played by the arrival of ICAVE at the port of Veracruz. On August 25, 1995, with just four hectares and 200 meters of dock, it became the first concession granted under the new Port Law , published a year earlier. This milestone not only paved the way for the modernization of the sector but also placed Mexico on the path to trade liberalization with an infrastructure aligned with international standards.

Thirty years later, the balance sheet reflects the consolidation of Hutchison Ports ICAVE as a leading operator. Its current capacity reaches 1.3 million TEUs (20-foot containers) per year, with 1,050 meters of quay, two berthing positions, and Super Post Panamax cranes, four of them automated. The infrastructure also includes a Logistics Activities Zone (ZAL), a CFS warehouse, connections for refrigerated cargo, and technological systems that incorporate autonomous tractor-trailers, OCR access control, RFID, real-time control, and smart access.

One of the most significant moments in its history was the development of Bahía Norte , the result of an unprecedented joint venture between the port authority and ICAVE. This collaborative model set a precedent for the way port expansion projects are conceived in the country.

On its thirtieth anniversary, the company reinforced its strategy with a new state-of-the-art electric crane, acquired with an investment of 226 million pesos. It also implemented the Remote Operation System (ROS) on four dock cranes and launched autonomous trucks. This technological commitment responds to Hutchison Ports’ global policy of decarbonization: reducing its absolute emissions by 54.6% by 2033 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

“Our priority is to maintain competitiveness with increasingly cleaner operations. The electrification plan is moving forward with clear goals for 2033 and 2050,” emphasized Jorge Magno Lecona Ruiz, director of Hutchison Ports in Mexico, Latin America, and the Caribbean, as quoted in a press release.

ICAVE’s importance is also evident in social and labor terms: it generates more than 1,500 direct jobs and approximately 13,000 indirect jobs. “ICAVE’s value is reflected in its people. Thirty years later, Veracruz maintains a central role within our network and meets the highest international standards of efficiency and safety,” Lecona Ruiz emphasized.

Operational milestones reinforce this vision: in 2015, it reached 10 million cumulative TEUs; in 2018, it surpassed one million annual TEUs for the first time; and in 2019, it completed its migration to Bahía Norte. By 2026, the goal is to begin Phase II of construction with the goal of serving larger vessels and expanding installed capacity.

Within Hutchison Ports’ national network, ICAVE connects with Manzanillo (TIMSA), Lázaro Cárdenas (LCT), and the TILH intermodal hub in Hidalgo. Its rail connectivity with corridors to Puebla, Mexico City, the Bajío region, and Monterrey strengthens the port of Veracruz’s role as an entry and exit gateway for Asian cargo crossing Mexico via intermodal transport, with significant logistics savings in time and costs.

The 2025-2026 plan includes the addition of new empty container cranes, reach stackers , electrified RTGs, and autonomous tractors. Specialized services such as LCL and refrigerated cargo, inspections, labeling, and digital traceability will also be continued, with registration processes in seconds and security systems that optimize traffic in yards and gates.

Hutchison Ports ICAVE’s agenda goes beyond business. Its social responsibility programs, such as Go Green and Dock School , along with training in safety, productivity, and quality, consolidate a comprehensive operating model with a community impact.

Three decades after its founding, ICAVE maintains a strategic position in the Gulf of Mexico. Its vision for the future combines investment, technology, sustainability, and human capital, factors that explain why it remains a key player in the Hutchison Ports network and on the country’s logistics map.

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El cargo ICAVE: Three decades of port transformation in Mexico apareció primero en T21.

The 1990s are considered a historically emblematic period for the development of ports in Mexico as we know them today. The 1991 takeover of the port of Veracruz set a precedent for the path the federal government would take, through a new public policy that allowed for private investment in these maritime infrastructures through state administration . The objective was to regain the unions’ control over the ports.

Greater trade integration with North America was on the horizon. The country had entered into trade negotiations (1990) with the governments of the United States and Canada to join the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which came into effect on January 1, 1994, and which would make this geographic area the largest consumer and production hub in the world. Having port infrastructure that could meet this major challenge of globalization was essential .

The rest of the countries were also preparing, to a greater or lesser extent, for the rapidly unfolding explosion of global containerization. In Mexico, the fate of the ports was beginning to be mapped out. These would become key players in supporting the policy of greater trade openness with the world.

It was in the port of Veracruz itself where the Mexican government, specifically the newly created Integral Port Authority (API) Veracruz, granted the country’s first port concession in 1995 to a private company under the new Port Law, enacted the year before. This concession was for International Container Association of Veracruz (ICAVE) , to operate a specialized container terminal, initially with only four hectares and 200 linear meters (m) of dock; later, under the terms of the concession, it would expand to 504 m of dock and 42 hectares.

The origin of ICAVE is shared by two companies that bet on that nascent port business: the Mexican Ingenieros Civiles Asociados (ICA) and the Philippine International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) , which in their recruitment process of senior executives were kind enough to hire Jorge Magno Lecona Ruiz as their Director of Operations, who had developed experience in maritime-port issues from the public sector, without knowing that he and his team would become the architects of the company’s expansion beyond the Veracruz coast.

If you’d like to continue reading this business story, we invite you to visit our August issue of T21 magazine by clicking here to go to the digital version .

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El cargo ICAVE, a 30-year port odyssey apareció primero en T21.

“Manzanillo’s only solution is to develop the Cuyutlán Lagoon, and it must be done as quickly as possible, because it is causing congestion problems and is a waste of resources. These are penalties that take away cargo and ultimately end up in convenience stores, which significantly increases the cost of the port,” the executive stated.

During his participation in the IV National Forum on Transportation Infrastructure , organized by the College of Civil Engineers of Mexico (CICM) , he said that a governance forum is already being sought to address this situation, “because while infrastructure is difficult to develop and takes a lot of time, it can still greatly improve the processes.”

He recalled that the construction of the port of Manzanillo was planned, however, the development of the industry and the new capacity of the ports meant that “it became too small, and another mistake was not stopping the urban sprawl.”

Lecona also noted that ships measuring 400 meters are now being received in Manzanillo, which has complicated the port’s draft, and the current port design is 20 meters deep.

Unlike Manzanillo, he noted that the port of Lázaro Cárdenas in Michoacán has “very generous” docks and yards, allowing it to accommodate these types of vessels without any problems.

“What I’m trying to say is that while we initially made mistakes in our planning because we didn’t have a crystal ball for predicting what would happen in the future, we now know that gigantism is coming; it’s designed with those standards. Today, the port of Lázaro Cárdenas, starting from scratch, handles more than two million TEUs (20-foot containers) annually,” he emphasized.

Regarding the recent operational problems at the port of Manzanillo, he stated that there is congestion, with container stays increasing to 10 or 12 days, compared to the normal five or six days.

“A truck congestion that is a loss for truckers is a lot of problems, but this issue has already prompted authorities and users to propose processes for improvement,” Lecona said.

It’s worth remembering that workers at the Manzanillo customs office demonstrated twice in mid-May, paralyzing the entry and exit of transport vehicles from the port  in protest of poor working conditions and unjustified dismissals  since Captain Rodolfo Torres Chávez took over the customs office a month earlier.

In response, on June 2,  Mexico’s National Customs Agency (ANAM)  held a meeting with the business and logistics sectors to present  the work carried out to resolve the operational problem  that arose at the country’s main  maritime hub in the Pacific.

Meanwhile, Antonio Moreno Gómez, president of the Mexican Association of Port, Maritime and Coastal Infrastructure (AMIP) , considered that leaving the city complicates operations and the work, so what they are looking to do in Cuyutlán would help resolve this situation.

“More logistics infrastructure is needed for the clearance of goods, and these departures are linked to customs inspections, but we need to find ways to facilitate the clearance of goods,” Moreno asserted.

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El cargo Expansion to Cuyutlán Lagoon, a solution for the port of Manzanillo: Hutchison Ports apareció primero en T21.