Investors From the US, China and India Eye Peru's $844 Million Corio Port, Planned With a Deeper Draft Than Chancay
AREQUIPA - Promotion of Peru's southern Corio port project took a step forward on October 12: Arequipa regional governor Rohel Sanchez said, after signing an agreement with the state investment agency ProInversion, that investors from the United States, China and India - as well as Turkey and the Netherlands - have expressed interest in the proposed $844 million terminal. Several companies have approached the authorities, he said, without naming them.
Under the project profile, Corio would have a greater draft depth than Chancay, the northern port operated since late 2024 by China's Cosco Shipping Ports, which accommodates large vessels making nonstop voyages between South America and Asia. ProInversion president Luis del Carpio said Corio is planned as a multipurpose terminal for clean bulk, general cargo and containers, without ruling out shipments of minerals such as copper to Asia, and aims to turn southern Peru into a new logistics, industrial and commercial node, including cargo from Bolivia and Brazil.
Corio would be the second new port planned for Peru's south. In September the government announced that China's Jinzhao will begin construction in 2027 of a $405 million port at Marcona, in the Ica region. China is a key investor in Peru and a top market for its minerals, while Washington seeks to curb Beijing's influence in Latin America - giving Peru's port map a geopolitical weight beyond commerce.
For Peru's Chinese-Peruvian business community, two new ports would expand the country's Asia logistics from Chancay alone to a north-south pair of hubs, changing routes and cost structures for importers and exporters. Corio remains at the promotion stage; whether investor interest becomes formal bids and construction depends on concession terms and environmental procedures ahead.
Sources: Compiled from Reuters reporting of October 12, 2026, carried by The Hindu BusinessLine and other outlets.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 集装箱货轮停靠集装箱码头（港口资料图），Wolfgang Fricke 摄，CC BY 3.0（Wikimedia Commons）
