For the moment, cargo will be loaded and unloaded using the cranes available at the ships, until high capacity cranes arrive on May 2011.

Guillermo López Suárez, president of CEPA (Ports Commision), told Elsalvador.com: “…at first cargo movement will be modest, but as we deploy more specialized equipment we will lure more customers”.

Initial cargo movement is estimated at 50.000 TEUs (20 feet containers) a year.

Source: elsalvador.com

More on this topic

Two Shipping Companies Suspended Service in Port La Union

March 2013

Since last December, the shipping companies APL and Hamburg Süd suspended their stopping services at the Salvadoran port.

"It's a shame that we have lost them because the service moved to Acajutla," said Milton Lacayo, chief of the port of La Union.

According to the official , 80% of the service was dedicated to cargo from Honduras and Nicaragua and there was also the expectation of developing cargo from the eastern part of the country.

El Salvador: Port La Unión is Inaugurated Amidst Controversy

June 2010

According to private operators, shipping companies will continue using port Acajutla, so the new port would only generate losses for the Salvadoran state.

The port, completed on January 2008, has been inoperative since then, because it lacks the necessary equipment, and because the government has not yet defined and approved a concession model for a private operator.

Port La Unión Opening Delayed

August 2009

The "ASAP" start of operations of the port, announced by President Funes, will be delayed for over 18 months.

As a response to the temporary closure of Acajutla port for repairs, Funes had announced that the government was going to start operating Port La Unión.

"After some research, CEPA president Guillermo López Suárez concluded that it will take several months, a year and a half or even more, to start operations in the port", told Mauricio Funes to newspaper Elsalvador.com.

Puerto La Unión starts Operations

July 2009

Facing closure of the Port of Acajutla for repairs, the Salvadoran government decided to start operations in La Unión Port.

President Mauricio Funes announced: "While the repair and restructuring works continue in the Port of Acajutla, it must be closed, and the cargo will be transferred to La Unión".