/Agencia EFE
The Government of Peru has intensified its contacts with companies from India to attract capital towards the Puerto de Corío project, a terminal with a natural depth of 28 meters capable of receiving the largest draft vessels to ensure the flow of minerals towards the Indian market.
“We are talking with several Indian companies and the project is being evaluated,” confirmed to EFE the ambassador of Peru in India, Javier Paulinich, who explained that the objective is for investors to integrate into the project once the bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is concluded.
Located in Punta de Bombón, in the Region of Arequipa, Corío projects a cargo capacity of 100 million tons per year. According to the proposal presented to local business groups, the terminal would provide an outlet for copper and gold from southern Peru, lithium from Bolivia and the so-called lithium triangle (Chile and Argentina), copper from northern Chile, and agricultural production from Brazil and Argentina.
“This gives India an opportunity to establish its own logistics platform on the Pacific coast of South America, ensuring direct access to critical minerals and agricultural products from the entire continent,” added the Peruvian diplomat.
Compared to the Port of Chancay, inaugurated in 2024 with participation from the Chinese state-owned Cosco, Paulinich stressed that Corío has been designed as an entirely private project. This structure would allow Indian operators to manage their logistics flows in the Pacific without depending on infrastructure with participation from third States.
According to the United Nations Comtrade database, India’s imports from Peru reached 4.690 billion dollars in 2024, of which more than 90% were precious metals.
Peru is currently the world’s second largest exporter of silver and copper, inputs that New Delhi requires for its semiconductor and electric vehicle industry.
The project, which will be located in the province of Islay, was reactivated in November by the agency ProInversión, which signed an agreement with the regional government and the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC).
The work requires an estimated investment of 7 billion dollars and is in the technical evaluation phase to define the definitive concession scheme.
Last February, India already signed a pact with Brazil for the joint exploration of minerals, while the Government of Narendra Modi is finalizing the expansion of its trade agreement with Chile to ensure access to lithium.
