The 44.2km Guayaquil South Viaduct road project will provide a more efficient link between the Ecuador’s production centres and the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador's business capital, and is expected to encourage investments and boost foreign trade.
“We stand behind the Ecuadorian government in its vision to establish better trade movement and access to the maritime port. This infrastructure project – one of the most important civil developments to be undertaken by the country – is a step in the right direction towards boosting foreign trade and the national economy,” said Contecon Guayaquil ceo Jose Antonio Contreras.
“Upon completion, the viaduct will optimize travel time resulting in considerable cost reduction in moving goods and usher more efficient port operations that hopefully leads to more vibrant economic activity,” he adds.
Announced during the 483rd anniversary celebration of Guayaquil’s independence, the project is divided into four sections: Cacique Tomala avenue, from South Bridge on the Guayas River, including a 7.6km bridge on the Cobina River; a 3.4-km bridge over the Guayas River, Ecuador’s longest; end of the Guayas River bridge to the Puero Inca-Narajal route spanning 21.7km; and a bifurcation, 11.5km link with the Duran-Boliche route.
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Meanwhile, further improvements to port infrastructure are also in line with the Guayaquil city government announcing it has received four proposals from foreign companies for the dredging of the port’s access channel that would allow larger vessels to call the port.
In July, the government gave approval for Contecon Guayaquil to handle up to 305m megavessels – essentially becoming the first and only container terminal in Ecuador capable of handling two mega vessels simultaneously. This follows the inauguration of the terminal’s new greenfield development in January, an expanded logistics support area capable of handling more than 6,000 containers.
“These new developments only show ICTSI’s continuing commitment to the development of Guayaquil by consolidating and expanding its position as Ecuador’s main trading gateway. With investments in modern infrastructure, Contecon will progressively raise the bar in container and general cargo handling operations in Ecuador,” said Anders Kjeldsen, ICTSI vp and regional head for the Americas.
Speaking at the inauguration, Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno, highlighted ICTSI’s investment in the port as being a good example of the government’s public-private partnership programme.
“In these [new] facilities, ICTSI invested $10m. In these 10 years, they have already invested $360m, [which is] $35m more than expected,” he noted.
ICTSI has pledged $325m for the 20-year concession period to operate the Guayaquil Container and Multipurpose Terminals at the Port of Guayaquil, which will end in 2027.
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