Peru's state apparatus has removed the final obstacle to a US$404.8 million port terminal project on its southern coast. A land deal signed on Thursday 24 September clears the way for China’s Jinzhao group to resume its concession. This agreement, struck between ProInversión, Peru’s investment promotion agency, and Shougang Hierro Perú, a Chinese-owned iron miner, resolves a dispute over critical land rights.
Shougang, which acquired the state company Hierro Perú in 1992, held mining rights over a portion of the proposed port site. The concession contract with San Juan Port S.A., part of the Jinzhao group, was signed on 31 March but suspended on 16 April because the project area could not be handed over. Shougang staff physically blocked access to the site during the initial handover, according to the business weekly SEMANAeconómica. The new agreement forces Shougang to "expressly and bindingly" commit not to assert its rights within the port area, effectively ceding control to the new foreign investor.
State Secures Capital's Access
The transport ministry, MTC, maintains title to the land, yet its actions serve to facilitate the private, foreign-owned port operation. ProInversión and the MTC had argued the land belonged to the state since 1948, predating Shougang’s mining concessions. This state intervention prevents a potential contract termination, a risk SEMANAeconómica had warned about in July. The deal allows the suspension to be lifted, the site delivered, and engineering work to begin for the 30-year concession.
Jinzhao's concession covers the design, financing, construction, operation, maintenance, and eventual transfer of a multipurpose terminal. The full project includes two docks, three berths, and equipment for bulk, general, and container cargo. The first stage, estimated to cost over US$271 million by Gestión, will feature a pier with two berths, an access bridge, and storage and loading systems. Construction is slated to begin next year, taking roughly two years for this initial phase.
Extracting Peru's Wealth
This new terminal is expected to become Peru’s third-largest port, primarily serving the export of iron and copper concentrates. It will facilitate output from Jinzhao’s own Pampa de Pongo iron project in southern Peru, an operation with a planned investment of US$1.781 billion. The port is an integral part of Jinzhao’s broader strategy for capital accumulation in the region. Peru, already one of the world’s largest copper producers, continues to deepen its role as a raw material supplier for global capital.
Jinzhao has already filed a third technical report with Senace, the environmental certification agency, proposing design changes worth about US$6 million. These include two conveyor belts capable of moving 3,050 tonnes an hour, underscoring the project's focus on high-volume mineral extraction. This development further solidifies China's expanding influence over Peru's critical infrastructure, following Cosco Shipping Ports' operation of the Chancay megaport north of Lima since late 2024.
Symbolic Concessions
Luis Del Carpio, head of ProInversión, claimed the deal "opens the way" for the investment to become "infrastructure, jobs and new opportunities for families in the south." Transport Minister José Tangherlini echoed this, stating the terminal would serve 29 provinces and 280 districts, offering a new logistics option for "productive activities and mining projects." The project also includes a social fund, equal to 3% of gross revenue, intended for social activities in Marcona district and Nazca province.
However, these promises of local benefit are met with skepticism. La República questioned how much the port would genuinely do for the region beyond mineral exports, even with the government's promise of 1,500 direct and indirect jobs in the first five years. The newspaper highlighted that such social funds, like the estimated US$85 million over 25 years, often lack clear guarantees on how the money is spent. The state's designation of the project as a "matter of public necessity and utility" appears to primarily serve the interests of foreign capital and resource extraction, rather than the broad public.