Esmeraldas Port

Cancelled

The government of Ecuador, under the port authority APE, awarded a 25-year concession for rehabilitation, operation, and maintenance of the Esmeraldas Port. In addition to managing the operation of the 700,000 ton throughput port, the concessionaire will also construct additional quays and storage facilities. The port capacity was expected to triple within three years of the contract. Nearly half of the project investment will go towards channel dredging The concessionaire Puerto Nuevo Milenio, comprises the Hidalgo and Hidalgo (74.5 percent) and Colombia’s Grupo Portuario SA (25.5 percent). The consortium will invest 25 million over the project and will make annual payments of US$824,000 to the government. Additional payments to the government are dependent on the port’s throughput. In September 2010, Ecuador's federal government revoked the lease of Consorcio Puerto Nuevo Milenio (CPNM)claiming that CPNM breached the original contract by failing to repair the port's main dock and by postponing its yearly dredging. CPNM had paid approximately US $10 million in state fees during its six years of operation.