Grupo Portuario Buenaventura Coal Terminal
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The Grupo Portuario Buenaventura Coal Terminal is a mothballed coal terminal on Dock 13 in the Port of Buenaventura, Colombia.
Location
The Grupo Portuario terminal is located at Dock 13 (Muelle 13) in the port of Buenaventura, directly adjacent to SPR Buenaventura's Dock 14.[1][2]
Background
The port of Buenaventura is Colombia's main port facility on the Pacific Ocean, where the Dagua River meets Buenaventura Bay. [3]
Dock 13 was the original coal export terminal at the Port of Buenaventura. Coal exports began in 1990, when terminal operator Inatlantic sent an initial shipment of 29,000 tonnes of metallurgical coal to Peru.[4] In 1996, Inatlantic was rebranded as Grupo Portuario S.A.[4], and over the next two decades the company established itself as the primary exporter of coal from Colombia's Pacific coast.
Between 2013 and 2024, the Grupo Portuario terminal maintained its dominant status, even after two new coal terminals were commissioned in the Buenaventura region (the SPR Buenaventura terminal in 2013 and the Puerto Industrial Aguadulce terminal in 2017). Annual coal throughput at Dock 13 was recorded as follows during this period.
Annual coal throughput
- 2017 284,749 tonnes[5]
- 2018 847,653 tonnes[6]
- 2019 487,281 tonnes[7]
- 2020 730,211 tonnes[8]
- 2021 579,384 tonnes[9]
- 2022 842,769 tonnes[10]
- 2023 1,067,135 tonnes[11]
- 2024 561,490 tonnes[12]
- 2025 0 tonnes[13]
Environmental controversy and suspension of operations in 2025-26
On December 23, 2023, Colombia's national infrastructure agency ANI passed Resolution 20233030018615, provisionally extending Grupo Portuario's existing concession to operate at the Buenaventura port for another 20 years, through 2045.[14] However, in a special session five days later, ANI reversed its decision, having determined that further environmental review was necessary given the potential negative impacts associated with coal handling at Dock 13.[15]
In January 2025, Colombia's national environmental authority ANLA announced that it had assumed jurisdiction over the matter, and was imposing an indefinite suspension on operations at Dock 13, pending establishment of adequate environmental management and control mechanisms, in accordance with existing conditions, impacts and applicable law.[16] As of April 2026, operations at the Grupo Portuario terminal remained suspended, with ANLA still deliberating next steps.[17]
Among the concerns cited by ANLA were respiratory illnesses among residents of the Nayita and Mayolo neighborhoods allegedly caused by particulate matter from the coal terminal.[17] Local residents have lodged complaints against Grupo Portuario dating back to 2008, citing health effects resulting from the proximity of both neighborhoods to Dock 13's coal storage yard.[18][19]
Project Details
- Operator: Grupo Portuario S.A.[12][20]
- Location: Port of Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia[1]
- Capacity: 1 million tonnes per annum[21]
- Status: Mothballed[13][16][17]
- Start Date: 1990[20]
- Mothballed Date: 2025[13][16]
- Type: Exports
- Source of Coal: Colombia
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Resolución No. 20213030001655: Reglamento Técnico para Terminal Portuario concesionado a la SOCIEDAD GRUPO PORTUARIO S.A. (pp 11, 31-32)". Ministerio de Transporte • Scribd. 2021-02-01. Retrieved 2026-09-24.
{{cite web}}: no-break space character in|website=at position 27 (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Muelle 13 Grupo Portuario S.A • Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca, Colombia". Google Maps. Retrieved 2026-09-24.
{{cite web}}: no-break space character in|title=at position 32 (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Port of Sociedad Portuaria Regional de Buenaventura", World Port Source, accessed January 2015.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Nuestra historia". Ventura Group. Retrieved 2026-09-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Análisis socioeconómico de Buenaventura 2017 (p 47)". Cámara de Comercio Buenaventura. 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Boletín Estadístico Tráfico Portuario en Colombia Año 2018 (p 17)" (PDF). Superintendencia de Puertos y Transporte. 2019-02-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Boletín Estadístico Tráfico Portuario en Colombia Año 2019 (p 17)" (PDF). Superintendencia de Puertos y Transporte. 2020-02-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Boletín Estadístico Tráfico Portuario en Colombia Año 2020 (p 17)" (PDF). Superintendencia de Puertos y Transporte. 2021-01-31.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Boletín Estadístico Tráfico Portuario en Colombia Año 2021 (p 17)" (PDF). Superintendencia de Puertos y Transporte. 2022-02-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Boletín Estadístico Tráfico Portuario en Colombia Año 2022 (p 18)" (PDF). Superintendencia de Puertos y Transporte. 2023-02-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Boletín Estadístico Tráfico Portuario en Colombia Año 2023 (p 17)" (PDF). Superintendencia de Puertos y Transporte. 2024-02-29.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Boletín Estadístico Tráfico Portuario en Colombia Año 2024 (p 17)" (PDF). Superintendencia de Puertos y Transporte. 2025-02-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "Boletín Estadístico Tráfico Portuario en Colombia - Enero a diciembre de 2025 (p 18)" (PDF). SuperTransporte (Superintendencia de Transporte). 2026-02-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Medida Cautelar en Controversia Portuaria (p 10)". ANI (Agencia Nacional de Infraestructura). 2024-12-13. Retrieved 2026-09-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Resolución No. 20243030000145" (PDF). Ministerio de Transporte • ANI (Agencia Nacional de Infraestructura). 2024-06-01.
{{cite web}}: no-break space character in|website=at position 27 (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 "ANLA asume la competencia ambiental en la operación del Muelle 13 en Buenaventura e impone medida preventiva". ANLA (Autoridad Nacional de Licencias Ambientales). 2025-01-08.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 "Rendición de Cuentas 2026: 1 de julio de 2025 a 30 de abril de 2026 (pp 94-95)" (PDF). ANLA (Autoridad Nacional de Licencias Ambientales). 2026-04-30.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Enfermos de carbón, así viven en los barrios Nayita y Mayolo en Buenaventura". El Espectador. 2024-05-26. Retrieved 2026-09-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ ""Mi niña está enferma desde el año": los efectos de inhalar carbón en el muelle 13 de Buenaventura". El Espectador. 2024-05-27. Retrieved 2026-09-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Nuestra historia". Ventura Group. Retrieved 2026-09-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Diseño del Plan Maestro del Desarrollo Portuario y Logístico de Buenaventura (p 48)". Universidad ICESI. 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
