A remote fishing town on the edge of Peru’s coastal desert is the site for a $1.3 billion megaport majority-owned by the Chinese shipping giant Cosco.

Summary

China’s President Xi Jinping inaugurated the $1.3 billion Chancay megaport in Peru, a key hub for South America-Asia trade, promising “tangible results” like jobs and revenue.

However, locals in the impoverished fishing town say the project has destroyed fish breeding grounds, reduced catches, and brought no economic benefits.

Residents fear further pollution, citing past oil spills.

While officials promote the port’s potential for regional growth, locals criticize the lack of infrastructure investment in their community, calling the port a “monster” that worsens inequality.

  • cyd@lemmy.worldEnglish
    726·
    8 days ago

    Every major infrastructure project will come with a long list of nimby complaints. Thing is, developing countries actually need these projects to improve people’s livelihoods in the long run.

    • EvergreenGuru@lemmy.worldEnglish
      9·
      7 days ago

      You’ll only be right if the original residents receive the infrastructure upgrades they need. Hopefully we’ll check back in a few years and all these people will have running water, but if not then it’ll just prove that they were taken advantage of.

    • S_H_K@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      9·
      8 days ago

      There is a difference in getting a project and prostitute the resources of the country. Which is usually the end of many so called developments around here in South America.

      • cyd@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        7 days ago

        That is just learned helplessness. No matter what development pathway you want to aim for, good ports are almost always one of the most important pieces of infrastructure a country can possess. And South America’s weak international and intra-regional connectivity is one of its biggest things holding it back, and has been for decades.