Peru has joined Brazil and China's transcontinental railroad project to connect the Pacific coast with the Atlantic Ocean across South America, offering an alternative trade route to the Panama Canal. This railway aims to facilitate the transport of Brazilian goods, such as soybeans and minerals, to China’s Shanghai port via Peru’s Chancay port, reducing maritime trade distance by about 10,000 km and easing reliance on Brazil’s congested Santos port.
A China-sponsored mega-port north of Lima is expected to revolutionize trade between Asia and South America. It would also jeopardize the future of seashore facilities in northern Chile which might lose some of their traffic share once the Chancay Megaport is opened. Works are 93% completed and are due to be finished in November.
Peru's Prosecution Office has launched an investigation into China’s COSCO Shipping Ports Ltd after a landslide at one of the company’s tunnel construction sites at the major mega-port of Chancay in the country. The incident, which took place in the coastal province of Huaral, damaged at least four houses near the tunnel and forced the company to suspend construction.