AFP – Huge cranes loom over Peru’s massive new Chinese-funded Chancay port, a symbol of Beijing’s growing influence in South America which is set to be inaugurated by President Xi Jinping tomorrow.
“It’s nearly ready,” deputy general manager Gonzalo Rios of the Peruvian subsidiary of Chinese port operator Cosco Shipping, which has a 60 per cent stake in the facility, said during a recent visit to the deep-water port.
Situated around 80 kilometres north of the capital Lima, the USD3.5 billion complex is expected to become a major hub for trade between South America and China. Chancay’s maximum depth is 17.8 metres (m), 2m deeper than Lima’s Callao port, making it capable of handling the world’s biggest container ships.
“With the addition of this port, this part of the Pacific and Peru in particular could become the logistical hub of South America,” Rios told AFP.
The facility will be unveiled by Xi and his Peruvian counterpart Dina Boluarte on the sidelines of this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima.
The port is the latest addition to the vast collection of railways, highways and other infrastructure projects built under China’s massive Belt and Road Initiative.
Launched in 2013, the programme initially focused on better connecting China with Europe, Africa and the rest of Asia but has since expanded to include South America.
Chancay, a fishing town of around 50,000 inhabitants, was chosen for its strategic location in the heart of South America.
Cosco Shipping Ports, which has a 30-year concession to operate the terminal, has forecast it will handle up to one million containers in its first year of operations.
Chancay is expected to be a major hub for imports of Asian electronics, textiles and other consumer goods and for the export of minerals, including lithium – a metal used in mobile phone and laptop batteries – from Chile and copper from Chile and Peru.
“Peru is a source of raw materials for China,” professor Oscar Vidarte told AFP.
