The day finally arrived. With the presence of the President of China, Xi Jinping, the inauguration ceremony of the Port of Chancay was held, a multipurpose port terminal that will change the commercial panorama of the region.

The activity was held at the Government Palace of Peru and was attended by the President of Peru, Dina Boluarte, and 16 heads of state of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), whose meeting is being held in Lima.

Expectations for the inauguration, which followed a bilateral meeting and was held virtually for the authorities, but also with activities in Chancay, were expressed in the Peruvian Official Gazette, El Peruano: “Peru begins a new era today”.

Port of Chancay, a regional hub

El Peruano highlighted that the terminal will be a key maritime point for trade between South America and Asia, mainly China (port of Shanghai), because it will become a regional hub that will redistribute cargo from Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Colombia.

The Public Affairs Manager of Cosco Shipping Ports, Mario de las Casas Vizquerra, explained that today it takes between 35 and 40 days to get from South America to Asia (China, Korea or Japan), but with the port the ships will be able to do it in 23 days, since the connection will be direct, considering also that Chile does not have a direct route to Asia.

Just as the terminal will benefit international trade, it will also have an impact on thousands of families in the corridor from the center of the country to the coast.

The Official Gazette also informed that the port will generate an economic and social impact equivalent to US$ 4,500 million per year, or 1.8% of the GDP. This will translate into thousands of jobs in sectors such as international trade, fishing, food, beverages, metal mechanics and more.

In an interview with the Peruvian media RPP, Carlos Tejada, deputy general manager of Cosco Shipping Ports Chancay, said that, “According to the schedule with the national port authority, we started from the 16th a test conditioning stage because the technology of the project requires this stage to improve the efficiency and performance of the port. But as of the 16th, we will begin to handle real cargo”.

Tejada pointed out that four ships are already moored, one for vehicle transport, two for containers, and one for bulk cargo.

“These ships will begin to disembark and load cargo for final destination in various countries around the world, especially in Asia, starting on the 16th. We are going through this test conditioning stage, but we are already handling real cargo. We estimate that in the first year of operation, we will be handling around seven hundred thousand, seven hundred and fifty thousand containers”, he said.

Remarks by the Chinese President, the Silk Road of the 21st century

In the same newspaper, El Peruano, the president of the Asian giant pointed out that Chinese and Peruvians will strive to steer the so-called “friendship boat” together, with the aim of taking it to a brighter future.

“As Latin American friends often say, without courage, one will never conquer the mountain or cross the sea. At the new historical starting point, with a single heart and unwavering courage, we Chinese and Peruvians will strive together to steer the ship of Sino-Peruvian friendship to a brighter future,” the top authority wrote.

Regarding the port of Chancay, he pointed out that it will be “the first intelligent port in South America”, and that “with the first phase of this project, it will be possible to reduce the maritime trip from Peru to China to 23 days, save more than 20% of the logistics cost and generate annual income for Peru of 4.5 billion dollars and more than 8,000 direct jobs”.

He indicated that the port will be “a true path of prosperity in promoting common development between China and Peru”, and between China and Latin America and the Caribbean.

At the Government Palace with his peers, Xi Jinping told the Peruvian President that the Port of Chancay “is another successful project of Sino-Peruvian cooperation and China is willing to work with the Peruvian side to take the Port of Chancay as a starting point, forge a new land-sea corridor between China and Latin America, and connect the great Inca road and the maritime silk road of the 21st century, thus opening a road of happiness marked by common prosperity for Peru and others”.

Chancay Port Infrastructure
It will receive larger vessels with greater cargo capacity of up to 24,000 containers. In addition, it will mobilize between 30 and 40% of Peruvian cargo destined for China and Southeast Asia in the first years of operation.

The only access to the port is a 1,840-meter bridge, the longest in the country, built to generate less impact on the town of Chancay and through which the operational dock area is reached, with a total length of more than 1.5 kilometers.

The Chinese company Cosco Shipping (60% of shares or US$1.3 billion) and the mining company Volcán (40% of shares) are investing in the construction of the port.

Chancay is a coastal city, the capital of the district of Chancay in the province of Huaral, in the department of Lima.

*Main photo and video courtesy of Comunicaciones del Puerto de Chancay.