The judicial decision establishes that Chancay qualifies as public-use transport infrastructure regardless of private ownership, placing the operating entity under Ositrán’s regulatory, supervisory, enforcement and sanctioning jurisdiction. The court specified that communications and administrative requirements issued by the regulator represent valid exercises of legal authority, directing any administrative disputes through established administrative and contentious-administrative channels.
The conflict centers on whether Chancay operates as a genuinely private terminal exempt from standard regulatory oversight. Cosco maintains its contract with the National Port Authority grants operational autonomy, pointing to the terminal’s status as one of only two private ports in Peru. Ositrán pursued market analysis through competition authority Indecopi to determine competitive dynamics with Callao port, Peru’s largest facility located nearby. Indecopi concluded insufficient competition exists between the terminals, enabling Ositrán to impose tariff regulation preventing uncontrolled pricing.
Congressional intervention complicated the dispute when legislators approved retroactive port legislation favoring Cosco’s position. Despite this statutory change, Ositrán maintained regulatory proceedings defending its supervisory mandate. Parallel judicial proceedings also supported Indecopi’s authority to evaluate competitive conditions at the terminal.
Following the constitutional ruling, Cosco announced plans to appeal to Peru’s Constitutional Tribunal, arguing the decision undermines the legal framework supporting its investment and violates legality principles. The Chinese state enterprise previously indicated potential recourse to dispute resolution mechanisms under the China-Peru Free Trade Agreement. The port reduces maritime transit time between Peru and Shanghai to 23 days and has attracted attention from United States authorities concerned about major Chinese port presence on South America’s Pacific coast.
This article was curated and published as part of our South American energy market coverage.
