First phase of DP World's deepwater Ecuador port completed

A new deepwater port built by DP World in Ecuador is up and running after the first phase of the $1.2 billion (Dh4.40bn) project was completed. Posorja received its first dozen ships in recent weeks and has some of the newest equipment in the industry installed. Sultan bin Sulayem, group chairman and chief executive of DP World, said the "beginning of operations at Posorja is a defining moment in Ecuador's economic growth". "The new port and special economic zone will significantly improve Ecuador’s global competitiveness and position the country as a dynamic business hub for the west coast of South America, following the model that has been tried and tested in Dubai and around the world,” he said. The next phase is the development of a free zone-style economic zone. The port is modelled on Jebel Ali, one of Dubai's biggest employers, which directly employs or supports about 135,000 jobs in the port and the free zone. Posorja supports about 4,500 jobs for now. Nicolas Gauthier, chief executive of DP World Ecuador said Posorja is "already creating thousands of direct and indirect job opportunities that are backed by robust social programmes". "A key example of this is establishing gender equality policies that have paved the way for the first female crane operators in Ecuador," he added.

First phase of DP World's deepwater Ecuador port completed

Posorja - built as part of an investment of $1.2bn by the Dubai port operator - is modelled on Jebel Ali free zone