Panama Ports Expect Boom
Despite U.S. Slowdown
By Andrew Beatty
(Reuters) - Panama's
ports expect shipping
container volumes to
grow by a fifth this
year despite a slowing
U.S. economy as Chinese
trade surges, the head
of the country's top
maritime body said on
Wednesday.
Fernando Solorzano told
Reuters he expects the
country's principal
ports to handle up to 5
million 20-foot
(6.1-meter) equivalent
units (TEUs) -- the size
of a standard shipping
container -- in 2008.
In 2007, Panamanian
ports handled just under
4.1 million TEUs, up
from 2.7 TEUs in 2006,
thanks in part to
increased trans-shipping
through the Pacific port
of Balboa on the mouth
of the Panama canal.
Balboa is run by a
subsidiary of Hong
Kong's Hutchison Whampoa
(0013.HK: Quote,
Profile, Research).
Despite a slowdown in
U.S. consumer demand and
the possible drop in
trade between China and
the U.S Eastern
seaboard, Solorzano said
the fundamentals are in
place for continued
growth in Panama's
shipping sector.
"If everything goes well
and continues as it has
been, I believe we can
reach this goal (of 5
million containers)," he
said.
Rising imports like cars
and consumer goods to
China are expected to
offset the slowing U.S.
economy at Panama's
ports.
Partly as a result,
Solorzano said there is
still enough business
for the construction of
another Pacific
mega-port to be
feasible.
Despite billions of
dollars in investment in
recent years, Panama
still lacks the port
infrastructure to handle
the huge mineral imports
from Latin America that
China needs to fuel its
economic growth.
He said China's largest
shipping conglomerate,
China Ocean Shipping
COSCO (1919.HK: Quote,
Profile, Research), was
still interested in
establishing a new
billion-dollar port that
could be located at the
Pacific entrance of the
Panama canal, not far
from Balboa.
Panama had planned to
auction the rights to
operate the port but is
reassessing the project
after a number of firms,
including Danish
shipping and oil group
A.P. Moeller-Maersk (MAERSKb.CO:
Quote, Profile,
Research), dropped out
of the running.
Solorzano said the
government will soon
make a decision on how
to move forward with the
project, which could now
be awarded by a direct
contract and not via a
tender process. |
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