The Port of Ponce Authority (PPA), a governing body of the Port of the Americas located in Ponce, Puerto Rico, has selected Portek International as the preferred bidder for the partial privatization of the port.

The request for proposal (RFP) was issued in October 2014. PPA and Portek will now begin contract negotiations for the project that are expected to be concluded by mid-2015.

The port is located on the south coast of the Island. The project comprises over 300 acres of government controlled land, occupied by the existing port and future development areas. The project aims to:

• Enable the port to eventually handle 1.5 million TEU's per year;
• Provide efficient port facilities to move cargo in Puerto Rico's southern region;
• Complement services offered by the port of San Juan;
• Enhance Puerto Rico value and supply chain; and
• Provide economic stimulus to the southern region.

Through an investment of over US$285 million, the port currently offers a modern post-panamax berth with 50 foot depth, two super post panamax ship-to-shore cranes, and a new container yard with a capacity of up to 500,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year.

Located in the middle of a privileged geographic position along the Mona Passage, a main shipping route between the Atlantic Ocean and the Panama Canal, the Port of the Americas has the capacity to become the next world-class international transshipment port for carrying out value-added activities.