The newly opened Chancay Port in Peru will bring significant opportunities to South America by boosting the regional economy and promoting employment, experts said on Sunday.
Chancay Port, a flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative, was officially opened on Thursday in a special inauguration ceremony which was attended via video link by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Peruvian counterpart Dina Boluarte.
The new port, the first smart and green port in South America, is expected to greatly enhance trade between Peru and Asia, cutting shipping times to China to around 23 days and reducing logistics costs by at least 20 percent, experts say.
"The Chancay mega port is a very important port for Peru, because it gives Peru a very important place amongst trade in Latin America. So, with this port, actually, Peru has surpassed Chile in terms of capacity, so it's very important for us in different levels. In addition to that, the three and a half billion dollars that are expected to be invested from the construction of this port until to its completion, is something that has not been seen before in Peru economy. So also the size of this investment and also the possibility of the creation of so many jobs as well and employment in the north of Lima is something very relevant for us," said Marco Carrasco, professor of Development and East Asian Studies at the National University of San Marcos in Lima, the capital of Peru.
Situated approximately 80 kilometers north of Lima on the Pacific coast and directly connected to the Pan-American Highway, a network of roads stretching across the Americas, the deepwater port is also poised to become a pivotal logistics hub between Latin America and Asia.
The port is also expected to generate 4.5 billion U.S. dollars in yearly revenues for Peru and create over 8,000 direct jobs.
"In a business point of view, this port is going to open a lot of possibilities for the interchange from Peru and China, and not also for Peru and China, also for the countries nearby in South America and East Asia, and also directly to Peru. It's going to give more than 8,000 direct jobs in the port of Chancay. And apart from that, it's going to give thousands of indirect jobs for Peruvians that they're going to be manufacturers, agricultural producers and more works in our country. So, it's going to impact a lot in our economy. And like I said, not only Peruvian economy, but also Chile, Colombia, every South American and also especially Brazil, which is going to invest in our railway to connect the Chancay Port to Brazil. So, it's going to be really, really big for our South American community," said Naghib Kajatt, member of Board of Directors of the Corporacion Kajatt Vaccari S.A.
During the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Xi called for more free trade and multilateralism. Xi proposed building an open and interconnected paradigm for Asia-Pacific cooperation, and called for tearing down the walls impeding the flow of trade, investment, technology and services.
Jorge Heine, former Chilean Ambassador to China, said that this proposal is extremely significant.
"Well, I think it's extremely significant. And for countries in Latin America and South America that depend so heavily on exports, that depend so heavily on placing our goods in the world market, obviously free trade is of the essence. The winds of protectionism that are blowing in the northern hemisphere are very ominous, and it seems to me that China's role in promoting free trade and in promoting multilateralism is extremely important," said Heine.
Chancay Port brings big opportunities to South America: experts
