Companies that ship grains from Argentina including Glencore, Cargill, Cofco, and Bunge, will invest some $1.2 billion over three years to improve infrastructure in the main port network of Rosario, the government said on Friday.
The largest investment came from Renova, a joint venture between Glencore Plc and Argentina's Vicentin SA, for 6.2 billion pesos ($410 million), according to export chamber CIARA-CEC. Renova will build a new dock and improve unloading areas and storage capacity by the end of 2017, CIARA-CEC said.
At Terminal Six, the largest at Rosario, operators AGD, of Argentina, and Bunge are investing 1.66 billion pesos to improve railway access to the port and expand storage capacity through 2018.
The grain exporters are the latest to pledge investment in the first year of market friendly President Mauricio Macri's government.
Argentina is the world's No. 3 soybean and corn exporter and top exporter of soyoil and soymeal, but antiquated infrastructure and lack of investment over the past decade have threatened its competitive advantage. Rosario's terminals export around 80 percent of the country's grain output.
"The news is more significant given that investments in the sector were paralyzed for some years," CIARA-CEC said in a statement.
China's COFCO is also investing 420 million pesos to expand a dock for barges. U.S.-based Cargill committed investments of 140 million pesos and Nidera announced 255 million to expand storage, CIARA-CEC said.
($1 = 15.2 pesos)
(Reporting by Maximiliano Rizzi; Writing by Caroline Stauffer; editing by Grant McCool)