The imposing silhouettes of the cranes of the new megaport of Chancay, north of Lima, reflect the scale of the infrastructure financed by China and intended to further strengthen the influence of the Asian giant in South America.
“It’s almost ready”welcomed during a recent visit to the site Gonzalo Rios, deputy general manager for Peru of Cosco Shipping Ports (CSP), a subsidiary of the Chinese maritime transport giant Cosco Shipping, 60% owner of the port.
A sign of the importance of the work, Chinese President Xi Jinping will inaugurate the installation on Thursday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima.
Chancay will be the first Chinese port in South America. Located approximately 80 km from the Peruvian capital, it will include four docks in its first phase thanks to an investment of $1.3 billion. Ultimately, it will have 15 berths, following a total investment of 3.5 billion.
The new megaport of Chancay, north of Lima, October 29, 2024 / Cris BOURONCLE / AFP
The deep-water terminal (nearly 18 m), construction of which began in 2021, will be able to accommodate the largest container ships in the world, behemoths capable of transporting up to 24,000 containers.
“With the contribution of the port, this Pacific region and Peru in particular can become the South American region’s key logistics hub for trade”note with AFP Gonzalo Rios.
“New Silk Roads”
The port is part of the Chinese initiative known as “New Silk Roads”. This major program launched in 2013 aims to build infrastructure and develop maritime, road and rail links between continents, particularly in developing countries.
Several South American countries (Peru, but also Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela) have already joined this initiative, which constitutes a central axis of Xi Jinping’s strategy to increase China’s influence in the ‘stranger.
On a beach in Chancay, north of Lima, a few dozen meters from the new megaport, October 29, 2024 / Cris BOURONCLE / AFP
Chancay, a small town of some 57,000 inhabitants, was chosen in particular for its strategic location in the center of South America.
During its first year of operation, one million containers should pass through the port, estimates Cosco Shipping Ports, which has a 30-year concession for the operation of the terminal with an eventual area of 141 hectares.
Peru imports consumer goods from its Asian partner, while supplying it with raw materials and minerals. China controls a third of the country’s mining companies.
Trade between Peru and China reached nearly $36 billion in 2023, according to Peruvian authorities, thanks in particular to a free trade agreement concluded in 2010 between the two countries.
“Singapore of Latin America”
“Our goal is to become the Singapore of Latin America”the Peruvian Minister of Transport, Raul Perez, enthused to the press during the visit to the site.
“We will have direct routes to Asia, in particular to China, which will reduce 10, 15 and even 20 days, depending on the route, which is happening today” in 35 or 40 days, he adds.
On the new megaport of Chancay, north of Lima, October 29, 2024 / Cris BOURONCLE / AFP
According to Cosco Shipping Ports, the terminal will reduce the cost of transport to and from Peru, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador in particular, which will no longer have to use the ports of Mexico and the United States for their trade with the ‘Asia.
L’installation “will allow China to position itself in this region of the world”assures Oscar Vidarte, professor of international relations at the Catholic University of Peru.
“The megaport is part of the struggle for geopolitical influence in the region. Chancay gives China a certain advantage over the United States »underlines for his part the analyst and professor of international law Francisco Belaunde.
Connected to the Pan-American Highway, which runs through Peru from north to south, by a 1.8 km tunnel, the megaport will integrate artificial intelligence technologies, useful in particular for goods control.
“We are going to have the most advanced technology to control the whole issue of container security, so that we know what is in it and that, when it leaves, the cargo is completely secure”notes Mr. Perez.
Peru is the second largest producer of cocaine in the world after Colombia.
