DP World breaks ground on $1bn project in Ecuador
DP World announced it has begin work on a greenfield multi-purpose port project being built at a cost of $1bn, at Posorja in Ecuador.
The ground breaking ceremony was attended by Lenin Moreno, president of Ecuador, and Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, chairman and CEO of DP World Group.
The ceremony follows the 50-year concession the company won last year from the Government of Ecuador to build a facility with 750,000 twenty-foot container equivalent unit (TEU) of capacity to fuel the countrys economic growth and connect it with international markets. The facility is likely to be operation by July 2019.
Around $500mn will be invested in phase one of the project, which involves purchase of land, dredging of a new access channel, a 20 km access road, and a 400 m berth equipped to handle containers and other cargo. The mammoth project will act as a major boost to the Equadorian employment sector, creating thousands of jobs during the construction stage, and close to 1,000 jobs during operations, along with plans to develop a logistics zone to create a regional trading hub.
While work began in July this year on nearby access roads, construction of the port, which is located 65 km from the countrys main business city of Guayaquil, is expected to take around 24 months for completion. In addition, a 1 sqkm logistics and industrial park, marked as a Special Economic Development Zone, will be developed adjacent to the port.
Bin Sulayem said at the launch: “This is an important landmark in Ecuadors growth story, were celebrating today the first public-private partnership that will benefit local economy and change forever the way it trades with the world.”
He added: “The port has been designed to serve the growing needs of global markets, something weve been able to witness first-hand with our 78 terminals around the world, and will dramatically improve the global competitiveness of Ecuadorian exporters.”
Jorge Velqsquez, general manager, DP World Posorja, pointed out that the Emirati group was always on the lookout for opportunities that help meet the growing demands of the global supply chain.
He added: “This facility will help Ecuador become an important player in regional and global trade, and its deep drafts and quay lengths will handle Post-Panamax vessels to complement Guayaquil and other nearby terminals. Its navigation channel is designed for ease of access, allowing large capacity ships to call at our shores.”
