Jealously fires up regional rivalry

Chile, for one, is asking why its Puerto Principal has still not managed to get started, even though Callao is handling more than Valparaiso and San Antonio combined. Valparaiso is being avoided by operators and developers for the moment. The big problem is that the government is touting Valparaiso Two as a project on its own, and treating the ports as separate entities.

“You cannot approach Valparaiso without taking San Antonio into account,” says an executive. “They are so close together and they serve the same hinterland. If an operator decides to go for the second stage of Valparaiso only, they could find themselves in financial trouble, because the volumes will not warrant it.

“With San Antonio moving forward, that will create three terminals and the question is with a fourth terminal projected for Valparaiso, can demand justify it?”

A consultant, speaking privately, agrees, but has a lightly different perspective. “As matters stand, the only sensible model is to get involved in both ports, even at the risk of ignoring Valparaiso Two. San Antonio is a better bet.”

The other topic generating most discussion is Manta in Ecuador, which is approaching crisis point with the Panama Canal expansion. The bugbear is that Guayaquil up river is the main market entrance. At the moment Manta is a direct port of call, with vessels transloading onto river vessels for the river journey, but after 2014 it is likely that the bigger ships will head for a deepwater port, such as Callao.

Ecuador is on the hunt for a bigger port and powerful operators at Manta. Confusion surrounds the exact reason for the withdrawal of Hutchison, but there is not exactly a scramble to get involved. Already the tender date has been postponed and the government is ambiguous and dithering about what to do next.

One reason could be the terms of any concession. The government wants to favour operators that are linked with lines serving the port. DP World says it has not purchased documents “despite what the marketplace says. We are an independent operator and we value that highly,” says Mr Leech. “We are not about to give that up lightly.”

Two companies have purchased documents, one of which is Ports America. The group confirms that the tender was issued in May and a deadline of August 6 has been given for a bid to be made. The port authority, APM, says it is looking for a 25-year concession but no other details of just what the authority or the government proposes.