PORT DEVELOPMENT
Expansion drives growth in Panamanian ports
strong growth out in cargo moved by the ports of Panama. Port activity grew by 31.8% in 2010 up to 5.59m teu and this positive pace endured in the first half of 2011 when volumes increased by 26.4% to 1.86m teu according to the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP).
T
With global trade increasing at an annual rate of 9%, the Latin American port community ‘is living its best hour,’ Carlos Urriola, svp of Seattle-based Carrix and gm of Manzanillo International Terminal (MIT) told the audience of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) Congress held in June 2011 in Lima, Peru. According to Ricardo Sanchez of the UN Economic Commission for Latin
he whole Latin American region is doing well, with steady growth in 2010 that continued in the first half of 2011 funnelling
America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Panama Canal [expansion] will clearly be a game-changer for the US East Coast, but does not guarantee that a ‘rising tide’ will lift all Latin American ports. ‘The expansion, by allowing post-Panamaxes to transit, will give an advantage to other countries in the Americas that are also going to see a greater possibility of connection through Panama,’ he explained, predicting that ‘the likely winners outside Panama will be Latin America’s Peru, Chile and Ecuador.’ The Panama Canal expansion has been one of the main drivers of growth in Panamanian ports and to further grow throughput Panama’s main terminals, which already have capacity for over 8m teu per year, are gearing up to expand their facilities.
The beginning of the Canal expansion
works on August 25, 2009, by the consortium Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC) that won the contract for the construction of the third set of locks, has brought important project cargo particularly to the Atlantic ports in 2009 and 2010. The escalating boom in project cargo started when the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) began calling in bids for dry-excavation contracts to pave the way for construction of the third set of locks. Dredgers, heavy trucks and all kinds of heavy equipment were the first to arrive for the contractors, giving Panamanian terminals the benefit of their locations adjacent to the construction sites: Cristobal and MIT on the Atlantic side and Balboa on the waterway’s Pacific entrance. The new PSA Panama International Terminal that is positioned next to the site where the GUPC consortium is building
Panama Ports Company PANAMA MARITIME REVIEW 2011/12 43
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