China COSCO Shipping Corp has struck a deal with a Chinese contractor for the construction of a $600 million port park near the port of Chancay, a Peruvian industrial zone and logistics hub. The tender for the Chancay Port project was won by China Harbour Engineering Company, a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company. It will be in a multi-purpose terminal that includes piers, breakwaters, jetties and a 1.8km tunnel project connecting the warehouses to the port entrance.

The 992-hectare mixed-use project is located 67 kilometers north of Lima. Upon completion, the project will be able to handle 1.5 million 20-foot equivalent containers and 6 million tons of general cargo annually. The largest port in South America is Colon in Panama, handling about 4.5 million containers a year. The port will revitalize Peru's economy, boost exports and create business opportunities, the Peruvian Ministry of Transport said.

The port is known as China's gateway to Latin America. Alfonso Rebazza, head of Chancay's logistics and industrial project, said in 2021 that the project would improve links between Asia and the Capricornus Axis, the name of a cluster of countries including Bolivia, Uruguay, northern Chile, Colombia and Ecuador. Keywords: engineering construction, engineering news

Shanghai-based COSCO reached the plan with the ministry in May 2019. Cosco holds a 60 percent stake, while Volcan, the mining subsidiary of Swiss miner Glencore, holds the remainder. The first terminal is expected to open to trade in the first half of 2023.Editor/XingWentao