Peru has cleared the main obstacle to a new Marcona port, paving the way for a US$404.8 million terminal to be run by China’s Jinzhao for the next 30 years. The land deal, signed on Thursday 24 September 2026, resolves a dispute that had suspended the project since 16 April 2026. ProInversión, Peru’s investment promotion agency, and Shougang Hierro Perú, a Chinese-owned iron miner, struck the agreement. Shougang, which bought the state company Hierro Perú in 1992, held mining rights over part of the site. Under the new terms, Shougang commits “expressly and bindingly” not to assert those rights within the port area, while the transport ministry (MTC) retains land title. This maneuver unfreezes a concession that had been stalled for five months, but it solidifies foreign control over a crucial piece of national infrastructure.
Foreign Control Solidified
The concession contract with San Juan Port S.A., part of the Jinzhao group, was originally signed on 31 March 2026. It covers the design, financing, construction, operation, maintenance, and eventual transfer of a multipurpose terminal. This 30-year agreement is not an isolated incident; Jinzhao will become the second Chinese company to build and run a port in Peru. Cosco Shipping Ports has already operated the Chancay megaport north of Lima since late 2024, demonstrating a clear pattern of foreign entities gaining long-term control over Peru's strategic maritime gateways. The ministry itself calls the Marcona project a “matter of public necessity and utility,” framing the transfer of national assets as an unavoidable good.
Proponents, like Luis Del Carpio of ProInversión, claim the deal “opens the way” for “infrastructure, jobs and new opportunities for families in the south.” Transport Minister José Tangherlini stated the terminal will serve 29 provinces and 280 districts, offering a “new logistics option” for the south’s “productive activities and mining projects.” Yet, the local newspaper La República questioned the actual benefit to the region beyond mineral exports when the contract was signed. The government promises 1,500 direct and indirect jobs in the first five years, a figure that pales against the scale of foreign resource extraction. A social fund, equal to 3% of gross revenue, is projected to raise US$85 million over 25 years for local activities. La República noted, however, that such funds “often lack clear guarantees on how the money is spent,” leaving the native population with vague promises while foreign interests secure tangible assets.
Resource Extraction for Transnational Gain
The port will primarily ship iron and copper concentrates from the planned Pampa de Pongo mine, Jinzhao’s own US$1.781 billion iron project in southern Peru. This terminal is explicitly part of the company’s “wider plan for the area,” revealing a coordinated strategy for resource extraction. Peru, one of the world’s largest copper producers, now sees its strategic infrastructure increasingly tied to the long-term plans of foreign corporations. For investors, the deal clears the way to unfreeze a concession, deepening China’s role in Peru’s port network. The transport ministry, known as MTC, keeps title to the land, but the operational control and revenue generation for three decades rest firmly with Jinzhao.
The standoff was not merely legal; Shougang staff physically blocked access to the site during the initial handover on 16 April 2026, according to SEMANAeconómica. This demonstrated the assertiveness of foreign corporate power on Peruvian soil. ProInversión’s new role as the granting authority for this contract also raised concerns, as noted by La República, adding another layer of institutional shift that bypasses traditional oversight. The project, targeting construction next year and a two-year first stage, is expected to become Peru’s third-largest port. This expansion of foreign-controlled logistics infrastructure represents a significant transfer of national economic leverage away from the Peruvian people, locking the nation into a long-term arrangement benefiting transnational capital.