Chinese and Korean interests want a port facility in Baja California
A Los Angeles firm,
fronting for Chinese and Korean concerns, is lobbying the Mexican
government to be granted permission to build a $1 billion dollar port in
the agricultural area of Punta Colonet, 150 miles south of Tijuana.
The port project would
be one of the largest Mexican public works projects ever, according to the
LA Times. Roads, rail lines, port facilities and even a small city will
have to be constructed to accommodate the project. The consortium believes
it is necessary to accommodate the growing demand for Asian goods; imports
from China grew at the astounding rate of 15% last year. |
 It
would improve Baja’s current port facilities which are limited, although
it is anticipated most of the cargo would be destine for the US. If the
plan is thorough, it would include vast improvements to Hwy 1 north to the
Mexico-US border.
The down-side is the
obvious environmental impact. The LA Times described the intended area as
‘deserted farmland’ This is far from fact. Punta Colonet south San Quintin
is one of the most productive agricultural areas in Baja. It’s proximity
to Hwy 1 and the US have spurred the growth of large commercial farming in
the area. Having anchored in Punta Colonet, it is a beautiful, unspoiled
area where orchards and farms run right to the oceans edge. There has been
tremendous growth in the region over the last 5 years.
Chinese and Korean
firms have not been known for their environmental planning or concerns.
One US environmentalist is quoted as saying, “This is just another case of
exporting California’s dirty environmental problems to the pristine coastline of
Baja California. This is one of the last
places we can preserve the beauty that once was the entire west coast”
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 Representatives
of the group seeking to build the port say that piers, cranes and
warehouse facilities could be operational by 2012 and begin by handling
more than 1 million cargo containers a year. Commercial funding could be
responsible for most of the expense. The facility would be about 1/7 the
size of those in Los Angeles.
LA Harbor has been so
overwhelmed last fall by the increase in imports that ships were reported
waiting to be offloaded for as long as a week. Project lobbyists say that
more port facilitates are needed and there are no options within the US.
Part of the
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Click on map to enlarge |
difficulty in US
construction is the environmental criteria that such a facility would have
to meet. Mexico has environmental concerns as well, but these concerns
often are circumvented in the light of the need for economic growth and
heavy lobbying. More than $200 billion dollars of shipping enters the US
annually through California ports. A port in Punta Colonet would provide
Mexico a piece of that action.
The up-side of this
project is the economic boon to Baja. Thousands of jobs would be created
in the construction process as well as in manning the port. Although most
of the skilled labor jobs would come from elsewhere in Mexico and more
likely from foreign firms conduction the construction. |
 Additionally,
there is the concern for jobs and wages in the US. Longshoreman’s wages in
the US are significantly higher than wages in Mexico would be. With such a
gap in labor costs, the Colonet port could be quickly overwhelmed and in
need of immediate expansion.
If corners are cut to
meet a budget, improvements to highways could be limited. Additional truck
traffic on a road already in need on improvements beyond those ongoing
would be disastrous. The road south of Ensenada is not safe or expedient
in handling the truck traffic it now carries, as it winds into the
mountains of Baja. Major improvements would have to be made north all the
way to the US border to handle the additional traffic generated not only
by the port, but by the needs of the people who would work there.
The rail line that
would be needed to cut road traffic and link the port to the US is another
problem. It would have to be constructed and paid for by Mexican concerns.
Mexican law prohibits the foreign ownership of such rail links.
There would also be
costs incurred by the US taxpayers to process and inspect the cargo before it entered the
US, further taxing the busiest border
crossing in the world, into San Diego. These same interests have expressed
displeasure with increase scrutiny of inbound cargo. Delays in delivery
cost money.
As a note, French, English and Russian interests have
all attempted to build port facilities in the area over the last 100+
years. All of these attempts were later abandon. Mitsubishi attempted to
expand port facilities for salt exports in Baja Sur and was thwarted by
international environmental interests just a few years ago. The Mexican
government was forced to withdraw approval of the project in a case where
concern for the planet overpowered the vast quantity of money the Japanese
firm threw at the project.
Tomas |
