The global relevance of companies seeking the award of a third port for container ships in the Pacific is a clear sign of the importance of Panama as maritime and logistics hub.
The companies pre-qualified to participate in the tender for the concession of a new port in Corozal are subsidiaries of the largest shipping companies such as Maersk-Denmark, MSC-Italy and CMA-CGM-France or are direct port operators, in this case the most important in the world, PSA from Singapore.
A conflict of interest between the two ports has been revealed following a demand for the concession of the Puerto de La Union to include the Port of Acajutla.
The failure of the Puerto de La Union - the concession for which no longer even has any suitors - has a basic cause: neither today- nor in the medium term- is there enough maritime traffic for both terminals to have enough work.
In Costa Rica growth in the port's productivity since it was granted in concession to private companies is in sharp contrast to the general stagnation of state-owned enterprises.
From 2013 to 2015, average productivity of ships in Caldera grew by 53.8%, while waiting times were reduced by 87% (gong from 160 hours to 20 hours) for bulk carriers and 50% (from 26 to 13 hours) for containerships.
Companies interested in developing and operating the new Panamanian port will face stiff competition from Panama Ports Company, which has already prepared a plan and requested to receive the concession directly.
The operator of the ports of Balboa and Cristobal, which has repeatedly expressed opposition to the idea of building a container terminal in Corozal, now wants to be its developer and operator, and it has now submitted a proposal to the Panama Canal Authority to receive a direct concession of the land located in the area.
After the Assembly rejected the first bill, the Canal Authority has presented a second proposal for the concession of the development of the port.
Although the Assembly rejected the first proposal, it has been reported that the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has maintained contacts with companies interested in developing the project. One of them is APM Terminals, which although the announcement of the international tender is still being awaited, "...
The Maritime Port Authority has awarded the concession for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of a port terminal in Aguadulce, Cocle Province.
The concession will be for 20 years, under the BOT format, and the multipurpose terminal covers an area for cargo containers, fuel storage area and silos for grain and other goods.
The Maritime Port Authority explained that "...For this type of procurement and works involving engineering and complex operations the BOT format is used (Build Operation Transfer) in which the most important and overriding parts of the evaluation are experience and the financial capacity of the companies participating in the tender. "
Now May 28th is the "confirmed" date for the submission of bids in the tender for the Central American Port of La Union.
According to the Executive Port Commission (CEPA), resolutions have been given to 63 queries put forward by four companies which have pre-qualified to participate in the tender, and because of this there will be no further changes to the date for receiving bids.
FAQs on the projected construction of a container transshipment port in the area of Corozal West of the Panama Canal.
Information taken from the Panama Canal Administration:
1. What benefits will come from the construction of a new port in Corozal West?
There are several benefits:
- The port will leverage the advantages of the Canal expansion bringing in more commercial activity.
For the second time since the tender for the concession of the port resumed, the Executive Port Commission of El Salvador has deferred the date for receipt of bids, this time until March 10th.
From a statement issued by the Executive Port Commission (CEPA):
At the request of enterprises the deadline for submission and opening of bids for the concession of the Puerto de La Union Central America has been extended.
An announcement has been made that the Autonomous Executive Port Commission will extend the consultation period for pre qualified companies until January 23, 2015 and the receipt of bids until December 23rd.
The concession of the "white elephant" project in El Salvador is still behind schedule. As before, when it was put back until October, the Autonomous Port Executive Committee has confirmed that, at the request of the pre qualified companies, the deadline for consultations and for receipt of bids for the concession of the port will be extended.
Despite the new president having reaffirmed his government's commitment to the project at Moin to be run by the Dutch company APM Terminal, his own lawmakers are supporting the formation of a committee to re-analyze the concession contract.
While President Luis Guillermo Solis is touring the United States looking for investors and providing legal certainty to foreign companies, inside the country space is still being given to obviously bias obstructionism on the part of port official unions. Now it is the sphere of the Legislature where a petition will be filed in an attempt to halt the project.
There are so many obstacles faced by the project being run by Dutch APM Terminals that it begs the question as to whether the Costa Rican government really wants it to happen.
Since it was awarded construction of the New Mega Port for specialized container ships in Moin, the Dutch company APM Terminals has faced dozens of lawsuits and other legal measures in the courts, which has maintained continuous doubts about the realization of the project.
Just like in a never ending story, a new problem always arises, such as the requirement now for the State to provide funding for dredging.
Although the Port Act Grant approved by the Legislature in 2011 established that the cost of dredging the Port of La Union shall be borne by the State through the Executive Port Commission (CEPA), the companies pre-qualified to take part in the competition for the award of the operation of the port are now demanding more assurances that the Salvadoran state will meet that commitment.
The Presidential candidate Luis Guillermo Solis has promised to respect the contract with the Dutch company APM for the construction of a new container dock at Moin.
The likely winner of the presidential election has backtracked on his campaign ads which stated he would "review the ports concession contracts."
During a meeting with members of the Costa Rican Coalition for Development Initiatives (Cinde), Luis Guillermo Solís, presidential candidate of the Citizen Action Party (PAC), said that a new government would respect the contract that was signed two years ago with the Dutch firm APM Terminals to build a new container dock in Moin, Limón, with an investment of $1 billion.
Dutch companies will be taking part in the competition for the concession of the container port planned by the ACP in the vicinity of the Port of Balboa.
Companies from the Netherlands have shown an interest in developing a new container port in Corozal in the 46 hectares belonging to the Panama Canal Authority, as confirmed by the Dutch ambassador to Panama, Jakob Wiebe de Boer.