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A total of eleven of the world’s largest port operators have formally expressed interest in participating in a public bidding for the Port of Corozal, the Panama Canal Authority said on Tuesday.

The port, which will be located on the Pacific side of the Canal, is set to play a major role in the development of Panama as the logistic hub of Latin America.

“We are thrilled at the sizeable interest we have received so far,” said Panama Canal Administrator/CEO Jorge L. Quijano.

“It further demonstrates the demand that exists for service on the Pacific Coast of Panama, a demand which will only grow with the opening of the expanded Canal in 2016.”

According to the Port Authority, several of the interested parties are linked to major customers of the Panama Canal, “representing their commitment to the waterway and the desire to develop more port capacity on the Pacific side of Panama.”

The companies interested in the bidding process are: Dutch Terminal Investment Limited SA, Germany’s EUROGATE Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven, Carrix, Inc. and affiliates from Manzanillo, USA, Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. from Korea, APM Terminals, Ports America, CMA-CGM Group, Taiwan’s Evergreen International Corp., China Shipping Ports Development Co. Ltd. and China Harbour Engineering Co. Ltd., Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG and Panama Ports Company from China.

The Panama Canal Board of Directors formally approved the development and construction of a transshipment port in Panama’s Corozal region at the end of December 2014.

Upon completion, the port will have the capacity to handle more than five million TEUs within a 120-hectare area at the Canal’s entrance to the Pacific.