Buenaventura expects 5% cargo increase in 2003

SPRBUN, the company that operates Colombia's Buenaventura port, expects cargo throughput to reach 8.5Mt in 2003, a 5% increase on 2002, which was the port's busiest ever year, La Republica reported. For the first six months of 2003, the port moved 4.12Mt, a 6% increase over the same period in 2002, BNamericas reported in July. The port mostly deals in sugar, coffee, coal and vehicles. Vehicle exports are expected to reach 15,000 units by year-end, and import 35,000, the report added. This year SPRBUN will invest a total of US$2.5mn in security upgrades, including the installation of cameras, perimeter vigilance and alarm systems, as well as the introduction of Cosmos software, which will put all the port's operations online. Other investments include increasing container space, the report said. SPRBUN has a 20-year contract to operate Buenaventura, one of Colombia's most important ports, through to 2014. Buenaventura is in Valle del Cauca department, midway down Colombia's Pacific Coast, it is the closest major port to Cali and capital Bogota.