Worker dies in accident at Peru's Chancay megaport project (updated)

COSCO SHIPPING Ports

11/05/2024 18:49

(Adds detail from company statement in paragraphs 2-3, context
in paragraphs 4-6)
       LIMA, May 11 (Reuters) - Hong Kong-based Cosco Shipping
Ports said on Saturday that a worker died in an early-morning
accident at a megaport it is building on Peru's Pacific coast.
     The worker was doing sanding and painting work at the
deepwater Chancay Port Terminal when the accident occurred, the
company said in a statement.
  
     The company said it was investigating the circumstances of
the incident and was coordinating with authorities.
  
Cosco, which began developing Chancay port in 2019 as a hub in
the South American Pacific, is at the center of a dispute over
the terms of its operations. 
    In 2021, Peru's National Port Authority (APN) awarded Cosco
the exclusive right to run Chancay, but said in March that it
never had the legal authority to grant it. It blamed an
"administrative error" and requested that a judge void the
terms.
  
     The company has said it expects the port to begin operating
in November in conjunction with the Asia-Pacific leaders'
meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
  
     

(Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Brendan O'Boyle, Editing
by Franklin Paul)
((mailto:Brendan.OBoyle@thomsonreuters.com;))