Port terminal owner DP World has won a 50-year concession to build and operate Ecuador’s first deepwater port.
The new port will be located in the city of Posorja about miles miles from Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city and business center as well as home to its main port of Guayaquil.
DP World said the concession agreement represents an investment of over $1 billion, including a first-phase investment of $500 million.
The first phase will involve the purchase of land, dredging of a new access channel, a 20km access road, and construction of a 400 meter berth with capacity to handle up to 750,000 TEU per year and other types of cargo, including equipment to support Peru’s vibrant banana export industry. The access channel to the new port will allow drafts up to 15 meters, compared to the current 9.75 meter drafts at existing Guayaquil terminals.
DP World said construction on the first phase is expected to start within six to nine months and take around 24 months to complete.
“Posorja will contribute to our continued growth in the developing markets of South America in the years ahead,” commented Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO, DP World. “This investment builds on our existing network in the region, with terminals in Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Suriname. We look forward to bringing DP World’s world class productivity-enhancing, security, safety and environmental best practices in container terminal development and operation to Ecuador.”
According to DP World, the project, dubbed the Greenfield Multi-Purpose Port Project, has the long-term potential to expand to 2,000 meters of berth and over 200 hectares of terminal areas.
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