Nicaragua details plans for Corinto, San Juan del Sur ports

The Nicaraguan government has unveiled further details of its plans to upgrade the port of Corinto and build a cruise ship terminal in the coastal municipality of San Juan del Sur.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Virgilio Silva, CEO of national port company EPN, said that the terms of reference for the tenders to modernize Corinto port are expected to be revealed within two weeks.

The pre-investment studies for the project have already been completed and the financing will be provided by the Central American Bank of Economic Integration (Cabei), Silva said.

The project entails the construction of a cruise ship terminal to improve services for tourists visiting the area, with a bus terminal also expected to be built to serve those visitors.

Some 10 silos with capacity to story 2,500t of goods will also be installed on the pier, which is used to handle banana products.

A service garage to repair port equipment will be built to complement the bulk grain terminal that is expected to be constructed at the site, the official said. Based on previous information, this terminal is expected to have a capacity of 15,000t of grain per day.

EPN will also install 50 CCTV surveillance cameras to monitor efficiency at the port and some dredging works are also expected to be carried out.

Earlier this month, Silva had said that the upgrade project would require investments of US$97mn, with works expected to begin in August.

Cabei awarded a 15-year loan for US$163mn for the project last year, which was approved by the Nicaraguan congress in October.

The project is expected to increase the port's annual installed cargo handling capacity from 3.4Mt to 7.5Mt

SAN JUAN DEL SUR

As for the cruise ship terminal, that is expected to be built in the famous tourist town on the Pacific coast of the country, Silva said the prefeasibility studies are already ongoing under an agreement with a South Korean consultancy firm.

The financing will also be provided by South Korea, the official said.

Company representatives are expected to make one last visit to the area before launching a tender for the terminal.