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DP World and its subsidiary DP World Posorja S.A. have secured approximately US$377 million project financing for a new deepwater multi-purpose port terminal to be located south-west of Guayaquil, Ecuador.

DP World Posorja was awarded a 50-year public-private partnership (PPP) for the construction, operation and maintenance of the port terminal in June 2016. Overall private investment in the port is expected to reach US$1.2 billion over two phases, with the goal of transforming the port into one of the most important on the west coast of South America.

The first phase of the project includes land acquisition, dredging of a new 16 meter-deep access channel that will allow maximizing the cargo capacity of Post-Panamax vessels, and the construction of a 400-meter berth and of a 20-kilometer access road.

Once completed, scheduled for 2019, the port will have a footprint of approximately 40 hectares and an annual handling capacity of 800,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units, offering a 15-meter draft. The phase requires a total investment of approximately US$503.8 million.

Financing for the first phase of the project is being provided by the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IDB Invest), DEG–Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG) and Société de Promotion et de Participation Pour la Coopération Économique S.A. (PROPARCO).

The second phase will expand the project’s footprint to a total of 63 hectares due to the construction of in ground additional facilities. The local government is planning to construct a 2,500-hectare industrial park immediately adjacent to the port.

DP World has already commenced construction at the site.