Ecuador: Port by Port

ESMERALDAS  
A concession was awarded in late 2002 by the board of directors of the Port Authority of Esmeraldas to Hidalgo, an Ecuadorian construction group, and a group from the port of Buenaventura, Colombia. When the government changed hands in January 2003, problems suddenly started piling up.

Esmeraldas’ municipality, labour forces and politicians did not like losing a source of kickbacks, so they started a legal fight to suppress the bidding process. The case reached the highest constitutional court, which ruled that the entire bidding was illegal because it was putting a state property into private hands. Since then the high court has remained ‘in session’ studying the case, and no-one can go ahead with the concession deal.

MANTA
The city and region has kept up a frenetic pace of business, but its maritime port process continues to enjoy a siesta and is the slowest in the country. A number of studies have considered, among others, the options of: a single operator, two ports – one for commercial activities and the other for fishing, a hub port and a transfer port for trade from Asia to Brazil. One Ecuadorian shipping insider described it as “a big merry-go-round that no one knows when it will stop.”

GUAYAQUIL  
This port is maintaining its daily average for the past several years of five ship calls. Cargo has dropped by as much as 25% because of channel silting problems. Dredging works are under way and will end by June 2004. Without offering any numbers or a marketing plan, from time to time port authorities give media interviews and their mantra is always the same: “Once dredging is completed, bigger ships will visit our premises.” In the meantime, the government and the city of Guayaquil are taking money out of the port’s pocket to finance dredging studies and plans for the Guayas River that, once in a while, receives small ships at private terminals.

The plan is to build a tourist quay to receive cruise ships along a regenerated waterfront that is to be the pride of the city. City fathers have offered flexible dates for the work to be finished. Guayaquil’s concession process continues to be shrouded in a veil of mystery. No-one was prepared to speak to Fairplay about it. Notwithstanding that, infrastructure improvements are very slowly coming to life in accordance with a master plan laid out more than seven years ago.

PUERTO BOLIVAR
Banana producers and exporters are fighting their own war against a proposed port concession, with the help of politicians who do not want a new lease of life for the port. These groups have halted the concession process with the same tactics used in the port of Esmeraldas. The highest constitutional court is thinking what to say about two ports that have ambitions to be productive and competitive.

Fairplay