New DP World Terminal Starts Up Outside Guayaquil

Global terminal operator DP World has commenced operations at its new greenfield container port in Posorja, Ecuador, located near the approaches to Guayaquil. 

The $540 million first phase of the project entailed the construction of a 750,000 TEU capacity terminal, a 54-foot navigation channel about 21 nm long, and a new dedicated access road for trucking. At full buildout of phase two, the port will have 1.5 million TEU of capacity and will be able to accommodate vessels of up to 15,000 TEU in size. 

Phase two will also include a special economic zone directly connected to the port, much like the free zone at DP World's Jebel Ali Port in Dubai. The Jebel Ali site is home to about 7,500 companies with 135,000 employees, and it is responsible for about 35 percent of Dubai's GDP. 

Posorja Phase One during construction, 2018 (DP World)

Posorja at full build-out (rendering courtesy DP World)

“The beginning of operations at Posorja is a defining moment in Ecuador’s economic growth. The new Port and Special Economic Zone will significantly improve Ecuador’s global competitiveness and position the country as a dynamic business hub for the west coast of South America, following the model that has been tried and tested in Dubai and around the world," said DP World chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem. 

Nicolas Gauthier, CEO of DP World Ecuador, highlighted the new job opportunities that the port brings to the area. “The Port . . . is already creating thousands of direct and indirect job opportunities that are backed by robust social programs. A key example of this is establishing gender equality policies that have paved the way for the first female crane operators in Ecuador," he said in a statement.

The project has backing from the Inter-American Development Bank, two European investment banks and the China Co-financing Fund for Latin America and Caribbean Region.

DP World is also expanding in neighboring Peru, where it has recently acquired a presence in ships' agency, trucking, warehousing and logistics to complement its terminal operations at Port of Callao. “Our operations in Peru show in action DP World’s strategy of enabling smarter global trade,” said Bin Sulayem. “We run ports, logistics hubs, trucking companies and maritime services providing our customers in Peru with seamless services at every stage of the supply chain.”