DP World breaks ground on $1bn project in Ecuador
Multi-phase project includes port and logistics and industrial park
DP World has broken ground on a greenfield multi-purpose port project in Posorja, Ecuador. A statement from the Dubai-based global marine terminal operator said the port facility will boast a 750,000 TEU capacity and is likely to open for business in July 2019.
The ground-breaking ceremony was attended by the President of Ecuador, Lenin Moreno, and DP World group chairman and CEO, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem. The ceremony follows a 50-year concession that DP World won in 2016 from the Government of Ecuador, to build the facility in order to boost the country’s economic growth and better connect it with foreign markets.
Around $500m will be invested into phase one of the project, covering the purchase of land, dredging of a new access channel, a 20km access road, and a 40mm berth designed to handle cargo. The project is expected to add thousands of new jobs to the country’s employment sector.
“This is an important landmark in Ecuador’s growth story, we’re celebrating today the first public-private partnership that will benefit local economy and change forever the way it trades with the world. The port has been designed to serve the growing needs of global markets, something we’ve been able to witness first-hand with our 78 terminals around the world, and will dramatically improve the global competitiveness of Ecuadorian exporters,” said Bin Sulayem at the ceremony.
As part of the project, a new one-sq-km logistics and industrial park will also be developed adjacent to the port, and will be marked as a Special Economic Development Zone. Work on roads near to the project’s location is said to have kicked off in July of this year.
