PPC unfazed by maritime authority plans to add ports

The Panama maritime authority's (AMP) plans to open up another port on the Pacific side of the Panama canal will not affect Panama Port Company ( PPC) operations, PPC operations director Jorge Mandiola told BNamericas. PPC runs Balboa port - Panama's only port on the Pacific Ocean - and Cristóbal on the Atlantic. The company recently announced plans to invest US$1bn to expand operations at both ports and target the transshipment sector, taking advantage of the fact that PPC is the only ports company with installations on both sides of the Panama canal. In mid-December last year, the AMP announced plans for projects to build ports alongside the Panama canal on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts at an estimated cost of US$600mn and US$400mn, respectively. AMP officials told BNamericas there was special interest in the Farfán area on the Pacific side for a port covering at least 300ha. Port and shipping companies P&0, Maersk Sealand, China Ocean Shipping, Port of Singapur Authority (PSA) and Evergreen have expressed interest in the Farfán project. Evergreen runs another port on the Atlantic, the Colon Container Terminal. However, PPC's Mandiola does not believe the AMP project will take place anytime soon, saying that costs would probably be closer to US$1.5bn for the Pacific port alone. "The AMP has been talking about this since 1997. It may cost up to US$1.5bn and take 7-10 years to build. I don't think this is a viable project - how much movement would the new port need to make it profitable?" he asked. Besides dredging the Pacific's shallow waters and carrying out infrastructure works, an extensive amount of landfill would be needed to make the Farfán area suitable for port works. Port authorities have proposed using land from dredging works at the Panama canal's eventual expansion project for landfill, but that expansion is still up in the air as it must first be approved in a national referendum, Mandiola added. In the meantime, PPC plans to invest the US$1bn beginning May or June this year to increase port infrastructure and capacity at both Balboa and Cristóbal. Works are due to take 18-20 months, and the idea is to integrate the two to function as one transshipment port, making it the largest port in Panama in terms of infrastructure. PPC is owned by Hong Kong-based Hutchinson Port Holdings, a worldwide port and transportation-related services company.