SPR Buenaventura Coal Terminal
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The SPR Buenaventura Coal Terminal is a mothballed coal terminal on Dock 14 in the Port of Buenaventura, Colombia.
Location
Background
The port of Buenaventura is Colombia's main port facility on the Pacific Ocean, where the Dagua River meets Buenaventura Bay.[1]
Following the national privatization of Colombia's ports under Law 1 of 1991, the Sociedad Portuaria Regional de Buenaventura S.A (SPRBUN) was created to manage and modernize the core public docks at the port.[2]
Coal exports from Buenaventura began in 1990, with an initial shipment of 29,000 tonnes of metallurgical coal to Peru from Dock 13, operated at the time by Inatlantic.[3] In 1996 Inatlantic was rebranded as Grupo Portuario S.A.[3], which became the primary exporter of coal from the Port of Buenaventura over the next decade and a half. Throughout this period, Dock 13 remained under concession to Grupo Portuario S.A. for coal handling[4], while SPR Buenaventura focused primarily on managing a highly diverse inventory of import and export goods across its remaining specialized terminals[2], including containers at Docks 1-8, bulk goods at Docks 10-12, and liquid bulk shipments at Dock 14.[5] SPR Buenaventura theoretically possessed 600,000 tpa of installed coal handling capacity at its various dry bulk terminals[6], but the company's actual coal shipments remained much lower during this period; for example, the port only reported 61,598 tonnes of coal shipped during the first 11 months of 2009.[7]
In 2007, the Colombian government mandated a series of modifications to the country's coal terminals aimed at reducing environmental risks from coal, including the installation of enclosed conveyor belts and direct ship-loading equipment.[8] SPR Buenaventura responded by planning a complete overhaul of its Dock 14 facility to incorporate new coal-handling infrastructure[9] and raise total coal-handling capacity to 1 Mtpa.[6] By the end of 2011 construction of the revamped terminal was 86% complete[9], and in March 2012 the new pier received its first ship[10]; however, the modernized coal-handling equipment was not officially inaugurated until February 2013.[11]
Despite SPRBUN's $16.9 million investment[11], coal exports from Dock 14 remained far below capacity during the ensuing five years:
- 2013 244,201 tonnes[12]
- 2014 46,202 tonnes[12]
- 2015 99,788 tonnes[12]
- 2016 47,847 tonnes[13]
- 2017 49,500 tonnes[14]
By 2018, SPR Buenaventura had stopped shipping coal altogether.[15], apparently due to competition from other terminals. The Port of Buenaventura reported considerably less capacity for storing and loading coal shipments than the nearby Puerto Industrial Aguadulce, which began commercial operations in March 2017.[16] Company websites indicated that Buenaventura could store up to 16,800 tons of coal vs 110,000 tons for Aguadulce, with a daily loading capacity of 5500 tons per day at Buenaventura[5] vs 24,000 tons per day at Aguadulce.[16]
As of September 2026, SPR Buenaventura's website continued to describe Dock 14 as a multi-purpose, primarily liquid bulk pier capable of handling coal.[5] However, Colombian governmental statistical reports made it clear that no coal had shipped from the port since 2017.[15][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]
Project Details
- Operator: Sociedad Portuaria Regional de Buenaventura S.A.[5]
- Location: Port of Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia[24]
- Capacity: coal only: 1 Mtpa (million tonnes per annum)[6]; all bulk goods: 2 Mtpa (5500 tonnes per day)[5]
- Status: Mothballed[23]
- Start Year: 2013[11]
- Mothballed Year: 2018[14][15]
- Type: Exports[11]
- Source of Coal: Colombia
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ "Port of Sociedad Portuaria Regional de Buenaventura", World Port Source, accessed January 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Información corporativa". Sociedad Portuaria Regional de Buenaventura S.A. Retrieved 2026-09-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Nuestra historia". Ventura Group. Retrieved 2026-09-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "2.1.1 Colombia Port of Buenaventura". Logistics Cluster LCA. Retrieved 2026-09-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 "Terminales Especializados". Sociedad Portuaria Regional de Buenaventura S.A. Retrieved 2026-09-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Estudio Técnico Sectorial: Infraestructura de Transporte Multimodal y de Logísticas Integradas para el Desarrollo de la Industria Minera en Colombia, con Énfasis en Puertos (pp 144-147)" (PDF). Ministerio de Minas y Energía. 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Análisis del Potencial de Integración Productiva y Desarrollo de Servicios Logísticos de Valor Agregado de Proyectos IIRSA (p 18)" (PDF). IIRSA. 2010-03-31.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Decreto 3083 de 2007". Función Pública - Gobierno de Colombia. 2007-08-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Informe Ejecutivo de Gestión Segundo Semestre de 2011 (p 5)". Sociedad Portuaria Regional de Buenaventura S.A. 2012-03-31.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Nuevo muelle entró en acción en puerto de Buenaventura". MundoMaritimo. 2012-03-23. Retrieved 2026-09-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 "Modernización del puerto de Buenaventura beneficiará comercio exterior colombiano". Ministerio de Transporte. 2013-02-26.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "Boletín Delegado de Puertos IV Trimestre - Acumulado del 2015 (p 18)" (PDF). Superintendencia de Puertos y Transporte. 2016-02-29.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Informe Consolidado Diciembre 2016 (p 18)" (PDF). Superintendencia de Puertos y Transporte. 2017-01-31.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Boletín Estadístico Tráfico Portuario en Colombia Año 2017 (p 18)" (PDF). Superintendencia de Puertos y Transporte. 2018-08-31.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 "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) - ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Se inauguró Puerto de Aguadulce, uno de los más grandes y modernos del Pacífico", Sociedad Puerto Industrial Aguadulce press release, March 8, 2017.
- ↑ "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) - ↑ 23.0 23.1 "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) - ↑ "Muelle 14 Sociedad Portuaria Buenaventura • Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca, Colombia". Google Maps. Retrieved 2026-09-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
