Port of Buenos Aires

Build a port to serve the capital of Argentina

The Port of Buenos Aires is the main port of Argentina. The state-run dock complex – sometimes known as Puerto Novo (New Port) – handles around 11.7m tons of cargo every year. The complex is in the Retiro area of the city.

Buenos Aires’ other main dock – Dock Sud – is to the south of the city. Owned by city authorities, Dock Sud handles another 17m tons of cargo annually.

Buenos Aires port was founded by the Spanish navy in 1580. Until the 19th century, it was a natural harbour. There was little infrastructure and mooring spaces were in relatively shallow water. This meant larger merchant ships would have to anchor several miles offshore. Cargoes were unloaded onto smaller boats and carried to the port.

City bosses wanted to create a port for Buenos Aires that would help make Argentina a more effective trading nation. They hired British engineer Sir John Hawkshaw – a former ICE president – to design a new facility.

Hawkshaw and his team started work on a four-dock complex in 1884. The first dock opened in 1889. Work was delayed by a major financial crisis – known as ‘the Panic of 1890’.

‘The Panic’ was largely caused by fears that London investment bank Barings Brothers – who were funding the dock project – was bankrupt. The crisis ended when a consortium of banks agreed to guarantee Barings’ investments. Hawkshaw’s dock complex was finally completed in 1897.

Later works saw the construction of a southern dock – Dock Sud – in 1911. The scheme was designed by British engineer Sir Brodie Haldane Henderson – later an ICE president. The scheme had 10,000ft (about 3km) of quays and included a refrigeration plant.

Further work from 1911 saw construction of a breakwater to the north and more space added for ships to berth and unload. The scheme opened in 1925 – making Buenos Aires the biggest port in the southern hemisphere.