The advance of organized crime in Ecuador and the mutation of its illicit activities have led privately operated ports to make security a «strategic axis» with the objective of mitigating impacts, being «efficient», and providing «quality services».
«Private ports have also had to adopt measures and actions to make security one of the strategic axes within the comprehensive management of a port terminal,» assured EFE this Tuesday Iliana González, executive director of the Association of Private Port Terminals of Ecuador (Asotep), who indicated that, thanks to this, security in foreign trade is one of the «most important» services they provide to the country.
The executive director pointed out that the evolution of work and investments in security has been significant, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, when «all these problems increased at the national level».
«All private ports have made the investments that not only the State, but also the productive sector have demanded for greater security in cargo,» stated González.
Investments of more than 200 million dollars The ports of Asotep plan to invest some 208 million dollars in infrastructure and equipment between 2026 and 2030, of which between 5% and 8% will be used to raise security standards.
Last July, they also joined the Security, Hope and Resilience for Peace Program in Ecuador (Serpaz) of the European Union through the ‘Secure Cargo’ component, which seeks to strengthen security in the export logistics chains against the threats of transnational organized crime.
«The issue of security demands a lot of effort, but we try to make the impact the least in all this problem that we know is worldwide, but has strongly affected Ecuador and its ports,» lamented González.
Other crimes Drug trafficking is not the only crime against which these ports have had to shield themselves, but also the threats and extortions against them and their workers.
Last September, two men on a motorcycle arrived at the exteriors of the Guayaquil Port Terminal (TPG), in the south of the city, left leaflets and fired several times.
«Forbidden to work at TPG. Those who work are dying, no one is going to work here,» read one of the papers thrown by the men at the terminal entrance.
A few days later, the Police captured the alleged perpetrators.
In parallel with the security issue, private ports will also make investments aimed at deepening the access channel to their terminals in 2027, a project that is in the hands of the city's mayor's office and with which they hope to start receiving vessels with a draft of up to 15 meters, which will allow them to compete with other ports in the region.
