Q24N (La Estrella) “We are working to position ourselves as an ideal destination among companies from countries that wish to strengthen the supply chain,” said Panama’s Minister of Commerce and Industry (MICI), Federico Alfaro Boyd, during his first work tour in the city of Colón.
He stressed that the logistics infrastructure offered by the Atlantic coast contributes to the promotion of the country as a regional hub, for which the Panamanian Government is committed to increasing that potential, attracting more foreign direct investment that benefits local development.
“For President Laurentino Cortizo and all of us who make up his work team, the economic acceleration of the province of Colón is a priority and we have focused on multiple initiatives in this line, mainly on the digitalization of processes, training and investment promotion,” Alfaro stressed.
In a meeting with directors of the Chamber of Commerce, Agriculture and Industries of Colón (CCAIC) and tours of various companies in the logistics and tourism sector, the head of the MICI explained that as part of the economic recovery plan, efforts have been made to promote the update of the priority roadmap of the National Logistics Strategy (ELN).
Alfaro also referred to other actions such as the approval of the law for value-added activities in port facilities, the interconnection between the Panama Maritime Single Window (VUMPA), the Integrated Customs Management System (SIGA) and the Ministry of Development Agriculture (MIDA); the interconnection between the systems of the port terminals and public entities, through the Technological Portal of Foreign Trade and Logistics (PORTCEL), the proposal to modify the Law of Colón Free Port and the implementation of an electronic commerce platform in the Free Zone of Colón.
In addition, the Manzanillo International Terminal (MIT Panama) facilities were toured, whose infrastructure includes a world-class container and Ro-Ro terminal, large container storage areas, a logistics park and a multimodal platform. that connects maritime, land and air transport services, according to Juan Carlos Croston, Vice President of Marketing.
Similarly, the offices of the company J. Cain & Co, a leader in logistics services for multinational companies, were visited. At this point they were received by Luis Carlos Motta, general manager of the company and Julio Calvo, vice president of operations. Currently, this company has a distribution center for Latin America and the Caribbean in the Colon Free Zone, contributing to the generation of more than 1,500 jobs, of which 80% is from Colon.
