Balboa port expects to report over 2mn TEUs for 2008

Panama's Balboa container port, on the country's Pacific coast, expects to report over 2mn TEUs for 2008, paper Capital Financiero reported. This ranks the facility as the largest port in Latin America in terms of cargo movement and infrastructure, the paper said, citing a report from the UN's Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean ( Eclac). According to the report, Balboa saw an annual growth of 37.2% in the 2002-07 period. This is the fastest growth registered in the region's 30 principal ports, followed by two Colombian facilities. Balboa holds a 46.8% share in the Panamanian market, followed by Manzanillo (34.4%), Colon Container Terminal (CCT) (13.3%) and Cristóbal port (5.08%), according to statistics from the national port authority ( AMP).