The port, which is expected to enter into operation in 2009-2010, will cover an area of 815 hectares. It will be built by a group headed by the US-based Sunland Group Corporation and include Cementos Argos, Barranquilla Port Authority and port operator Muelles El Bosque, as well as other private investors. In its first phase of operation, the new port expects to export 8m-10m tonnes of coal annually.