DP World officially commences construction of new Peru terminal

The early morning ceremony was also attended by Peru's Minister of Transport Verónica Zavala and senior DP World officials.

The event marked the beginning of work on the new container terminal in the Muelle Sur area of Callao Port, near Peru's capital, Lima, and underlined the partnership approach and commitment of DP World in the construction of infrastructure in this rapidly growing economy.

In June 2006, DP World was awarded a 30-year concession to build and operate the new terminal.

The first phase of the project will see around $210m invested in two berths comprising 660 metres of quay line and 22 hectares of yard, capable of handling vessels of 5500 TEU nominal capacity and around 800,000 TEUs (twenty foot equivalent container units).

It is hoped the first phase will be operational in the second half of 2009.

Further development will be phased in line with demand, with total capacity projected to reach around 1.3 million TEUs.

The development will also see improvements to port related infrastructure including land access, widening of the port´s sea entrance, navigation aids, security and protection systems, and the development of logistic centres.

Dubai World and DP World Chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem said:

"This is a significant milestone for this important project. We look forward to its completion and contributing to the growth of this facility and Peru as both a key transshipment hub and gateway port for the west coast of South America. DP World has more than 35 year's experience constructing and operating state of the art marine terminals in markets around the world. We are pleased to be able to share our expertise and look forward to investing over the long term in Callao and in Peru. We also see significant investment opportunities for other companies within the Dubai World group, including tourism, real estate development and logistics,".

DP World owns 70% of the development company with the balance held by a local Peruvian partner, the Unimar group of companies.