Standing atop a hulking crane at this country’s largest Pacific port, Alejandro Echeverri pointed out scurrying workers below reinforcing pylons, preparing the ground for an extended pier and tending to a dredging boat that has been deepening the harbor.
As the planning director for the Buenaventura Regional Port Authority, Echeverri says his job is to be a “futurologist” and try to stay ahead of the industry. Right now, the industry’s future is high stakes and under the sway of a singular event: the expansion of the Panama Canal, which will make the ships that straddle the seas larger and heavier than these ports have ever seen.
The industry “doesn’t care what ports need to do to be ready or what it costs,” Echeverri said. “If you’re not ready, they’ll simply take you off their route.”
Ports throughout the Americas and the Caribbean are rushing to be ready for the post-Panamax future. Currently, the Panama Canal can handle ships 965 feet long that need a depth of 39.5, a size known as Panamax. Once the expansion is complete in 2015, the canal will be able to accommodate ships 1,200 feet long with a 50-foot draft — and shippers are already building to those dimensions.
Read more: BUENAVENTURA, Colombia: As Panama Canal expands, Latin America rushes to be ready - Americas - MiamiHerald.com
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