DP World (DPW.DI) announced that it had won a 50-year concession agreement for the development of the first deep water port in Posoria, Ecuador worth a total investment of cUSD1bn. Construction is expected to start within six to nine months, with an initial investment of USD500mn, which includes the purchase of land, dredging of a new access channel equipped to handle containers and other cargo. The project will take around 24 months to complete, resulting in 750,000 TEU of capacity. Total investment will be over USD1bn for the entire project, with plans to develop a logistics zone to create a regional trading hub. According to Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, DP World Chairman and CEO, the project will focus on containers with the capability to handle other types of cargo and will be implemented with DP World’s local partners, Consorcio Nobis and Grupo Vilaseca. He added that it would contribute to continued growth in the developing markets of South America as it builds on DP World's existing network in the region, with terminals in Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Suriname. A range of benefits for the project includes providing access to a 15-metre draft compared to the current 9.75-metre drafts at the existing Guayaquil ports, additional capacity for the Guayaquil terminals and long-term expansion potential, with up to c2,000 metres of berth and over 200 hectares of terminal area. (Company disclosure)   DP World (DU): AED17.35 as of 6 June 2016, Rating: Buy, FV: AED22.00 per share, MCap: USD14,401 million, DPW DU / DPW.DI