WORKING TOWARDS CONCESSION
The Guayaquil Seaport Authority bases successful expansion on a strong drive towards private-led administration

Guayaquil’s prime geographic location and urban renewal program, in addition to the growing facilities of its port have anchored a growing number of investment initiatives

In a city founded on a hilltop between the Guayas river to the east and the salt-water estuary of the Estero del Salado to the west, it’s little wonder that the water which borders Guayaquil has long played a major role in its development. Even in colonial times it was famed as a port, first for military use and later for commercial purposes as the location of choice from which to ship timber, then cocoa and more recently the bananas that constitute the nation’s second foreign exchange earner after petroleum.

For the last four and a half decades since its creation, the Guayaquil Seaport Authority (GSA) has been responsible for managing Ecuador’s most important port: the 13th largest in the American continent and the point of entry and exit for around 70% of the nation’s imports and exports. The fact that the port sits at the heart of Ecuador’s biggest and most dynamic commercial city, strategically close to the Pacific coast, make it a prime location for development as a transshipment hub for both Asia and the Americas.

Originally solely res-ponsible for every aspect of port operations, since 1994 the GSA has adopted a more hands-off role, granting private enterprise a concession to administer storage facilities and provide the majority of the workforce who service its three terminals. In the process, the GSA was able to downsize its own personnel and today directly employs just 100 people, with another 350 contracted through third parties, a significant reduction compared to the more than 3,000 of less than a decade ago.

JOSÉ DÁVILA M. President of the Board of Directors of GSA	JORGE FIERRO LUNA General Manager of GSA

Former navy captain Jorge Fierro Luna (INTERVIEW), General Manager of the GSA, is bullish about the successes achieved since 1994, when the Modernization Law that paved the way for the transformation was passed, as well as regards what remains to be done. “The GSA at this point in time carries no debts, but instead shows profits of more than US$7 million,” he points out. “We have eight docks and can build four more, which means we are talking about a 50% increase over what is currently available, and as regards land, we are considering the construction of a container area which would add another 50% more to what we already have.”

Mr. Fierro Luna also outlines the additional steps that the GSA intends to implement in the near future to expand the scope of facilities already in place, including a Free Zone to be developed together with a private partner and a new service zone to serve the port which could feature banks, office suites for shipping companies, a hotel, and even a protected fruit-tree plantation.

The GSA is also looking to capitalize on Guayaquil’s geographic location and the urban renewal program, which has changed the face of the city and drawn millions of new visitors from Ecuador and further afield. An agreement was signed in late October 2003 between the city council and the GSA to build a new 180-meter mooring designed to accommodate cruise ships behind the Crystal Palace, close to the Southern Market area.

CARGO MOVEMENTS BY PORT

José Dávila M. (INTERVIEW), a retired lieutenant in the navy and a close colleague of the national president Lucio Gutiérrez, is the Authority’s President of the Board and is directly responsible for overseeing the granting of a new 20-year concession to a single company to operate the port from 2005 onwards. The first phases of the process – defining guidelines and carrying out socio-economical and environmental studies – are complete, and the GSA is now set to embark on the promotion of the port at an international scale.

“We will show the world that Guayaquil Port is an efficient port, worthy of concession and attractive for investment,” Mr. Davila says, adding that a number of potential investors are keen to get involved even prior to the official announcement. “We already have certain contacts with two countries in Asia at this moment, and a country in Europe has also shown interest.”

The GSA’s decision to adapt the port to the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) ISPS regulations within the next six months is another vital step towards making investments here as secure as possible. Compliance means guaranteed inspections and controls with the aim of preventing smuggling, drug trafficking, and terrorism. The objective is clear: to boost confidence in one of the most interesting prospects for shipping worldwide. As Mr. Davila puts it: “Guayaquil Port is open for investment, welcoming you to compete in a healthy, fair, and transparent way, so the best operators will come along with the best investor.”