IDB finances revamp of Central America's largest port

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has committed US$ 135 million in loans to finance the construction of a new container terminal in Puerto Cortés, the main port of Honduras and the largest port in Central America.

The project to expand and modernise the deepest port in the region will involve dredging the harbour basin and slips and redepositing the material to create a new area of reclaimed land.

This reclaimed space will become the new container terminal, and serve as a future expansion area to accommodate a planned organic bulk terminal.

The IDB loan will also finance the acquisition of specialised equipment and the provision of storage yards in the port, which currently handles almost 90% of maritime traffic in the region.

Located on the northeast coast of Honduras, Puerto Cortés is the main point of entry for imports of grains and fertilizers, and also handles a large portion of Central America's containerised exports.

The IDB loan will finance about 60% of the total cost of the project.