Large-scale marine
equipment, crawler cranes, gantry cranes, 27-meter long-arm excavators... The
Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal, this large mechanical equipment from
China roared on the construction site. Li Chao, an engineer of the Panama
Island expansion project, pointed to a construction site in the distance and
said to reporters: "There is the entrance to the future cargo ship."
The Margarita Port,
located in the Colon Free Trade Zone, was invested and built by the Landbridge
Group in Shandong, China. The port expansion and upgrading project was
officially started in June 2017. This is the first container terminal designed
and built in accordance with the new Panama Canal locks at Margarita Port. The
total investment of the project is estimated to be approximately US$1 billion.
It is also one of the largest investment projects of Chinese companies in
Panama.
Port Project Construction is in Full Swing
After the expansion of
the Panama Canal in June 2016, a larger new generation of container ship “Super
Panamax” ships can travel freely to and from the two oceans through the canal,
and the cargo carrying capacity of the freighter has risen from 5,000 TEU
(standard container) to 14,000 boxes. In order to meet the new capacity
requirements, the expansion and upgrading of the Margarita Port as a world-class
hub is accelerating.
In the construction of
the island of Margarita, the preparatory work in the early stage was very
heavy. Li Chao said that Panama attaches great importance to environmental
protection and must cut down plants because of construction. According to local
regulations, the number of trees must be replanted, and the animals that
originally inhabited here must be properly placed. At the beginning of the
project, the company replanted trees in the surrounding areas and other areas,
and the animals moved to their new homes.
Zhang Liang, general
manager of the container port project in Colon, Panama, said that a major
roadblock for infrastructure construction in Central America is the shortage of
hardware equipment. For example, there is no 12,000-ton jack required for the
construction of a container terminal in the local area. In order to ensure a
smooth construction period, it can only be transported from within the country.
In the event of damage to other common equipment in China, it needs to be
deployed from domestic or other countries, which greatly increases the cost.
The shortage of local
equipment and the high cost of renting, if all the local materials are taken,
the construction period is bound to progress slowly. Through hard work, Landbridge
Group received the support of the local government, and equipment imports were
tax-free. Dredgers, crawler cranes, pile drivers, and large trucks on the
construction site are all from China, and “Made in China” helps local
infrastructure construction. At present, the gate of the port is about to be
completed, and the construction of the berth is more than 100 meters more than
a few months ago.
According to reports,
in June 2019, the No. 3 berth of the Margarita Port will begin trial operation.
By June 2020, the first phase of the project will be fully operational. The
second phase of the project is expected to start construction in early 2019.
After the completion of the construction, the island will realize an annual
capacity of 5 million TEUs and upgrade to the only port on the Atlantic side of
the Panama Canal that can dock 150,000-ton container ships to meet the
operation and demand of the canal. Since then, Landbridge Group will continue
to increase the port throughput of the island, and achieve an annual container
throughput of 11 million TEU.
Witness the Rapid Development of Bilateral Relations
The steady progress of
the Margarita Port project benefited from the development of China-Panama
relations. According to Li Chao, during the preparation of the project, China
and Panama have not yet established diplomatic relations. Due to legal restrictions,
progress in environmental assessment and construction permits has been slow,
and many documents need to be delayed for several months. A few days after the
start of the Margarita Port project, China and Panama announced the
establishment of diplomatic relations, and the construction of the project also
ushered in a new world. Governments in Panama and Colon are very concerned
about the project and often go to the site to check the progress of the
project. In terms of safety and labor, the city of Cologne has provided
tangible support to the Landbridge Group.
Landbridge Group's
caring for local employees has also been recognized by employees, local
governments and trade unions. Colon Labor Bureau official, Alodiel told reporter
that Landbridge Group has created more than 2,000 jobs for Cologne, including
more than 800 construction and construction posts. Landbridge Group also
provides various safeguards and good working conditions for workers,
"although both the cultural differences, occasionally there will be
differences, but through good communication, nothing cannot be solved. Landbridge
Group has become our good friend".
Local staff Córdoba was
pleased to tell the reporter: "I get along very well with Chinese
personnel here. The Landbridge Group has a dedicated local Chinese official to manage
the welfare and labor security of local employees. Panama and China are far
apart, but the people of two countries are close and warm.
The representative of the Panamanian
Construction Workers Association, Estepa, said that Chinese people are
enthusiastic, united, diligent and respectful. Chinese companies are willing to
exchange ideas with Panamanian employees and listen to each other. “Chinese
companies respect us and have won our respect for them.”
Li Chao took the
reporter around the construction site. He proudly said: "Margarita Port
promotes automation, which not only improves efficiency, but also guarantees
service quality and saves operating costs. In addition, the price advantage
here is obvious and it is very competitive in the future. To build a logistics
port here, many other Latin American countries now intend to cooperate with
us."
While building a new
port, it also witnessed the rapid development of China-Panama relations.
Córdoba is full of expectations for the future of Panama-China cooperation.
"I hope that more and more Chinese companies will invest in Panama and the
door to friendship will be opened!"
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