Hutchinson operates 168 gantry cranes in ports of Panama
Through its subsidiary Panama Ports Company (PPC), Hutchinson Whampoa operates 168 gantry cranes in the ports of Balboa and Cristóbal, in Panama.
PPC operates those two ports at the entrances to the Panama Canal.
Annual payments to the Government under a 25-year renewable concession, granted in 1996, were set at approximately US $ 22.2 million plus 10.0% of revenues.
Furthermore, under the concession, an initial concession in advance to the Government of 10% of the shares of the operating company was required.
In June 2002, Panama agreed to waive annual lease payments of US $ 22.2 million in light of Hutchinson Whampoa’s investments in the terminal expansion, but in September 2005, the Torrijos administration reversed the decision.
Then, on October 18, 2005, PPC paid the government $ 102 million in arrears and began an expansion of the Port of Cristóbal, which is part of its $ 1 billion port expansion program.
Gantry cranes
PPC has already invested approximately 500 million dollars in expanding the maritime operations of both ports.
As of December 31, 2015, the dock of the Port Balboa container terminal was 182 hectares and there were 108 gantry cranes, while the dock of the Port of Cristóbal was 143 hectares and there were 60 gantry cranes.
Four years later, as of December 31, 2019, the Port Balboa container terminal pier covered 182 hectares and there were 108 gantry cranes, while the Port of Cristóbal pier covered 143 hectares and there were 60 gantry cranes.
Port sector
The Panama Maritime Authority owns and controls most of the ports in Panama.
Several ports in Panama have been privatized through the granting of concessions.
The Manzanillo International Terminal (MIT) is a container port located in the former United States military base in Coco Solo.
The port is managed and operated by a joint venture formed between Stevedoring Services of America and Motores Internacionales.
In 2019, MIT handled approximately 2.54 million TEUs of cargo and containers, compared to approximately 2.23 million TEUs in 2018.
For its part, Evergreen International, a subsidiary of the Evergreen Group of Taiwan, manages and operates the container port in Colón.
The initial investment was $ 80 million and Evergreen began operations in the fourth quarter of 1997.
In 2019, the Colón container port moved approximately 784,252 TEUs of cargo and containers.
