LIMA (Reuters) – Chinese ports operator Cosco Shipping could kick off legal proceedings in Peru after the local regulator determined that prices at Cosco’s Chancay megaport must be controlled, the firm said in a statement sent on Friday.
Cosco stressed that it offered competitive market conditions at Chancay, despite consumer protections agency INDECOPI ruling on the contrary.
The company added that Peru’s own port authority had previously recognized Chancay’s competitiveness.
On Thursday, Peru’s transportation body said it would regulate rates at the port after the market watchdog ruled the terminal operated without sufficient competition.
Located north of Lima, Chancay recently began operations with non-stop voyages to and from Asia, accommodating the largest vessels on South America’s Pacific coast.
The port’s first phase, built by Cosco in a $1.4 billion investment, was inaugurated in November by Peruvian President Dina Boluarte and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima.
(Reporting by Marco Aquino; Editing by Natalia Siniawski)
