Port of Buenaventura
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The Port of Buenaventura is located on Cascajal Island, Colombia. It has historically been home to multiple coal export terminals, including the SPR Buenaventura and Grupo Portuario coal terminals. However, in recent years most coal export traffic has moved across the bay to the Puerto Industrial Aguadulce Coal Terminal.
Location
Background
The Port of Buenaventura is Colombia's main port facility on the Pacific Ocean, where the Dagua River meets Buenaventura Bay.[1] Three separate coal terminals have historically operated in the vicinity of the port: the Grupo Portuario coal terminal at Dock 13, the SPR Buenaventura terminal at Dock 14, and the Puerto Industrial Aguadulce terminal, on a peninsula opposite the main port. The former two terminals were mothballed as of September 2026, with only the Aguadulce terminal still in operation.
Coal export volumes from the port have historically fluctuated within a range of 500,000 to 1 million tpa (tonnes per annum), as evidenced by multiple statistical reports over the past two decades.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] For further details, see the separate wiki pages for individual coal terminals (linked above).
Expansion proposals
Historically, China has expressed interest in expanding the port as part of a US$7.6 billion project that would link Colombia's interior coalfields with Buenaventura via a newly constructed railway, thereby facilitating large-scale exports of Colombian coal across the Pacific. In 2011, speculation began about a possible rail link between Colombia's Caribbean and Pacific coasts, to be built by the Chinese as an alternative to the Panama Canal. If constructed, the railway was to allow large-scale transport of coal from Colombia's interior coalfields to the west coast, where it could be exported across the Pacific Ocean to China. The most ambitious proposal would have involved development of a 791km railway via the coastal towns of Uraba and Cupica, coupled with expansion of Buenaventura's port to accommodate freight exports of up to 40 million tons per year.[11]
In a 2011 interview, Domingo Chinea, general manager of the port society of Buenaventura, questioned the practicality of such a scheme, noting that the port currently accommodated ships of only 40,000 tons (much smaller than the vessels typically used to haul coal internationally). Chinea also estimated that 80 train runs would be required to match the cargo-carrying capability of a single Panama Canal ship.[12] Observers raised a host of other concerns, from the project's environmental impact to its economic feasibility.[13]
In October 2013, the Wall Street Journal quoted Colombia's Mines and Energy Minister Amylkar Acosta as saying, "Talks for a bilateral agreement with China have advanced at this stage, and probably soon some news will be released in this regard."[14] In January 2014, China’s ambassador to Colombia, Zhou Quan, confirmed that China was looking for Colombian partners to help move the railway project forward.[15]
In 2017, China was still looking to invest in the Port of Buenaventura for an expansion.[16][17] Throughout 2020, talks were underway regarding possible development of an alternative Pacific deepwater port 200 kilometers to the north of Buenaventura, despite environmental concerns brought up by surrounding communities, which are largely Afro-Colombian.[18]
Disruptions to service
During 2021, protests and blockades cut off access to the seaport, directly affecting coal shipments.[19][20][21]
Project Details
- Operator: Sociedad Portuaria Regional de Buenaventura S.A.
- Location: Cascajal Island, Colombia
- Capacity: 20 million tonnes per annum (including adjacent TCBUEN container port)[22]
- Status: Operating
- Proposed Capacity: 20 million tonnes per annum
- Projected In Service:
- Type: Exports
- Source of Coal: Colombia
- Cost of Expansion:
- Financing for Expansion:
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ "Port of Sociedad Portuaria Regional de Buenaventura", World Port Source, accessed January 2015.
- ↑ "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) - ↑ "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) - ↑ "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) - ↑ "Anuario Estadístico Buenaventura en Cifras 2010 (p 7)" (PDF). Distrito de Buenaventura. 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "China goes on the rails to rival Panama canal", The Guardian, February 14, 2011.
- ↑ "Is Colombian 'dry canal' plan for real?", Washington Post, March 10, 2011.
- ↑ "El ferrocarril interoceánico". El País. 2011-02-19. Retrieved 2026-09-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Colombia, China Close In on Coal and Railway Deal", Wall Street Journal, October 17, 2013.
- ↑ "China still working out a contract for coal train to Colombia’s Pacific coast: Ambassador", Colombia Reports, January 7, 2014.
- ↑ "China looks to expand Colombia's Buenaventura port - China Dialogue". China Dialogue. 2017-11-29. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
- ↑ "China eyes expansion of Colombia's Buenaventura port". Dialogo Chino. 2017-11-09. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
- ↑ "'I'll never be ready for this port,' locals say of Colombia's proposed project". Mongabay Environmental News. 2020-06-08. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
- ↑ "Protests Bring Colombia's Pacific Coast Container Port to a Halt". The Maritime Executive. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
- ↑ "Colombia protests lose steam, but their economic toll rises". euronews. 2021-06-10. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
- ↑ "Lines suspend Buenaventura operations due to Colombia blockades". Seatrade Maritime. 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
- ↑ "Puertos de Buenaventura, listos para poner a andar la Alianza del Pacífico", El País, February 24, 2014.
