UAE's DP World wins concession for Ecuador port project

Dubai Ports (DP) World, the world's third biggest port operator in relation to assets, said here Tuesday it won a 50-year concession for the development of a greenfield multi-purpose port project in the South American country of Ecuador in Posorja.

The port project is located 65 km from Ecuador's main business city of Guayaquil, said DP World in an e-mailed statement.

The global maritime port operator said its 500 million U.S. dollar initial investment for the project's phase one will include the purchase of land, dredging of a new access channel, a 20 km access road and a 400 metre berth equipped to handle containers and other cargo.

The construction is expected to start within up to nine months and take around 24 months to complete, resulting in 750,000 TEU (twenty-foot container equivalent) of capacity.

The project will focus on containers with the capability to handle other types of cargo and will be implemented with DP World's local partners, Consorcio Nobis and Grupo Vilaseca.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, said Posorja will contribute to our continued growth in the developing markets of South America in the years ahead.

This investment builds on DP World's existing network in the region, with terminals in Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Suriname, he said.

We look forward to bringing DP World's world class productivity-enhancing, security, safety and environmental best practices in container terminal development and operation to Ecuador. Endit