business

Bidding for megaport called off

Five companies met the prequalification requirements. Only two may still be interested.

LA PRENSA

abandoned: A sign says "Welcome to Farfán" but the area is closed to the public. Unsanitary conditions and a lack of security put any visitors at risk.980949

Owing to the dwindling number of companies interested in participating in the project, the board of directors of the Autoridad Marítima de Panamá (AMP) decided during its last meeting to suspend the bidding process for the construction of a megaport in the area of Farfán inVeracruz. This was one of the signature projects announced by the government at the end of 2004, shortly after President Martín Torrijos assumed office.

Although more than 20 companies were interested in the project, only five met the prequalification requirements: APM Terminal, Cosco Pacific, Port Singapur Authority (PSA), Marine Terminal Corporation y Hutchison Port.

The bidding process was moving forward until Hutchison, which operates the ports of Balboa and Cristóbal, filed for legal remedy for having been excluded from participating further in the process. It had been established that no operator which had a presence on the Pacific, such as Hutchison, could participate in the bidding for a project on the Atlantic so as to avoid creating a monopoly. When APM Terminal, which represents Maersk, sent a letter of withdrawal from the bidding, that left only three companies, said deputy administrator of the AMP, Carlos Moreno. Then as the government negotiated a contract with PSA to operate the Rodman port, only two companies were left, Cosco and Marine, which might collaborate.