Port of The Americas (Port of Ponce)

Port Of The Americas (Port Of Ponce)

The Rafael Cordero Santiago Port of the Americas (POTA) —Spanish: Puerto de las Américas Rafael Cordero Santiago— is a megaport currently under construction in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The project aims to convert the current Port of Ponce into an international shipping hub similar to, though not as large as, the megaports located in Singapore and Rotterdam. The Port of the Americas is considered Puerto Rico's main Caribbean port, and, at a depth of 50 feet, it is also the deepest port in the Caribbean.

The port was originally overseen by the Port of the Americas Authority (Spanish: Autoridad del Puerto de las Américas) a defunct government-owned corporation of Puerto Rico. The Authority reported that when completed, the new port will have a storage capacity of 2.2 Million TEUs. The Authority also reported that the port handled an estimated 504,044 short tons of cargo in 2007, and projected it to handle over 1.5 million in 2012.

On December 12, 2011, the government of Puerto Rico transferred control of the port to the Ponce municipal government, when governor Luis Fortuño signed to create the Ponce Port Authority—Spanish: Autoridad del Puerto de Ponce (APP)— an independent government-owned corporation ascribed to the Ponce municipal government. However, as of December 2012, the Port of the Americas Authority still owns most of the port's assets.