Panama Sees Strong
Shipping Container
Growth
Panama expects its
shipping container
volumes to increase by
around 10 percent next
year despite the
downturn in the U.S.
economy, the country's
maritime authority said
on Wednesday.
The authority sees
Panama's ports handling
5.6 million 20-foot (6.1
meter) shipping
containers in 2009, up
from around 5 million
this year and 4.1
million in 2007.
Panama has seen shipping
volumes nearly double
since 2006 on increasing
Chinese demand for raw
materials as well as
growing exports in
finished goods from the
world's most populous
country.
"Latin America faces a
great challenge because
maritime transportation
is growing at an
accelerated rate, and so
we must create
infrastructure that can
meet existing demand,"
maritime authority chief
Fernando Solorzano told
an industry meeting in
the Panamanian capital.
Panama has earmarked
around $1.6 billion for
upgrading current
facilities. China's
state-owned shipping
giant China Ocean
Shipping, COSCO
(600428.SS: Quote,
Profile, Research), has
expressed interest in
building a new mega-port
at the Panama Canal's
Pacific entrance.
Panama handles around 40
percent of Latin
America's containers via
its U.S.-built, 50 mile
(80-km) canal between
the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans.
|
