Panama Port Facility to be Built

NEW YORK - Jul; 15/05 - SNS -- Four companies -- Grupo Melo, SA; Panavicola SA; ARCE Avicola SA; and Cargill Americas Inc. -- entered a joint venture agreement to build and operate a bulk discharge port facility near the city of Colon, Panama, at the Atlantic entrance of the Panama Canal. The joint venture company will be known as Desarrollo Posicional, SA.

The facility will be built on a deep-water site at the Port of Cristobal to maximize efficiency in the transport and delivery of products to the Panamanian agricultural and food processing industries. The land being used for the installation of the port facility is being leased under an agreement with Panama Ports Company, the holding company of Hutchinson Whampoa.

While the port will initially be used for agricultural raw materials, there are plans to expand the port’s use in the future to include other bulk and bagged products. Development of the facility will begin within 60 days.