The San Lorenzo Megaport Project is a proposed plan to build a huge air, naval, and terrestrial port on the island of

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Lawrence of Rome, Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Monte San Lorenzo, a mountain on t ...

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists o ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

using

land reclamation Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamati ...

techniques. It plans to be the largest port and only megaport in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. The island is strategically located on the middle west coast of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

where it has easy access to

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, and

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

. It also has easy access to the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

by a proposed railway to connect it to the

Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

which is only 700 miles away through

Pucallpa Pucallpa (, qu, puka allpa, lit=red dirt; Shipibo language, Shipibo: ''May Ushin'') is a city in eastern Peru located on the banks of the Ucayali River, a major tributary of the Amazon River. It is the capital of the Ucayali region, the Corone ...

. Its plan is to link the world to Latin America through

. It would be linked to the mainland by a proposed four kilometer long underwater tunnel with access for subway, freight trains, and automobiles. A financial center would also be built on the island. Peru

Terrestrial Operations/BiOceanic Corridor

Located on the non-reclaimed part of the island will be the terrestrial port. It will be located near the airport. This is where all the parking, transit, buses, subways, micros will be located. Most importantly however, it will be the link between the Pacific and

ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

s. From the terrestrial port hundreds of freight trains every day will originate to be transported cross-country to the city of

where they will be shipped via the

to the

. From the port it will go through the tunnel under the ocean and keep going underground for 15 kilometers until it leaves the Lima Metropolitan Area at around Lurigancho. From there it will cross the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

then into the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

until it reaches

in the Ucayali Region. From

it will travel down the

Ucayali River The Ucayali River ( es, Río Ucayali, ) is the main headstream of the Amazon River. It rises about north of Lake Titicaca, in the Arequipa region of Peru and becomes the Amazon at the confluence of the Marañón close to Nauta city. The city of ...

until it merges with the

and will pass by the city of

Iquitos Iquitos (; ) is the capital city of Peru's Maynas Province and Loreto Region. It is the largest metropolis in the Peruvian Amazon, east of the Andes, as well as the ninth-most populous city of Peru. Iquitos is the largest city in the world th ...

, the nation's fifth largest city. There it will pick up cargo and continue on the largest river in the world to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

Mega Airport

The city of

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

is located in the middle of

at a strategic location for connection to the rest of

. It would be replacing the

Jorge Chavez International Airport Jorge is a Spanish and Portuguese given name. It is derived from the Greek name Γεώργιος ('' Georgios'') via Latin ''Georgius''; the former is derived from (''georgos''), meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker". The Latin form ''Georgius'' ...

. The Peruvian aviation industry has been historically one of the strongest in Latin America but is currently in a large downwards movement. Investors predict this project would be enough to give a large enough boost to send it back into its former glory. There are currently non-stop flights from all the major cities in the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

and from four

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an airlines. Many

n airlines such as Japan Airlines,

Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines (abbreviation: SIA) is the flag carrier airline of the Republic of Singapore with its Airline hub, hub located at Singapore Changi Airport. The airline is notable for highlighting the Singapore Girl as its central figure in ...

, and

Air China Air China Limited () is the flag carrier of the People's Republic of China and one of the "Big Three" mainland Chinese airlines (alongside China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines). Air China's headquarters are in Shunyi District, ...

have had interest in the past to flying to Lima as

is the only country in

accessible non-stop from

. The airport would have 3-4 runways depending on how many airlines would be flying to the airport. Developers plan to make the airport building be in the shape of a Nazca figure.

Mega Naval Port

As with the airport the location of the port is perfect as it is the middle of

which is a perfect location to connect with the rest of

. The water is over 50 meters in depth. It can fit Post-Panamax ships. These ships can carry over 15,000 containers. The port is designed for trans-oceanic voyages. It is 7.4 kilometers long. Under the airport would there be subterranean warehouses to store the cargo. When they are ready to be loaded onto the ships they would be elevated to the port and lighting would rely on fiber-optic technology.

Financial/Hotel Center

The island would also have a financial center due to the large amount of commerce occurring on the island. Many of that area would also be airline offices. The area would also have, as with almost any other major airport of the world, many airport hotels in the area. It is safe to say that the financial center of the island will rival that of

Downtown Callao Callao is one of the seven districts of the Constitutional Province of Callao in the Callao Region, Peru. The Chillón River marks the district's northern border with Ventanilla. On the east, the Callao district is bordered by the Carmen de la L ...

The Tunnel

The tunnel will have three parts. One part would serve for inbound traffic. Another other part would serve outbound traffic. They will have sufficient lanes for the estimated traffic to be generated for the megalopolis-to-be. The third part of the tunnel will be the rail section. This part will be the most important part as it will be one of the most important keys in linking the Pacific and

corridor. The

Lima Metro The Lima Metro ( es, Metro de Lima) is a rapid transit system that serves the area of the cities of Lima and Callao, both of which make up the Lima metropolitan area, currently linking the district of Villa El Salvador in the south of Lima wi ...

will also use the rail section when it expands to the airport. They would be lighted using fiber-optic technology. The tunnel will be built using special drilling machines which will probably be manufactured in

Breakwaters

The island-port will not require many breakwaters. The strong southern currents would be blocked by a new breakwater located in the Chorrillos District.

Land reclamation

The

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

and naval port will be located on reclaimed land. The island itself is not completely flat so this is necessary. The port design requires it as well.

Project cost

The total cost for the project is an estimated US$12 billion.

Environmental Costs

The island of San Lorenzo is home to thousands of sea birds, as well as a large breeding colony of sea lions. It stands in contrast to the sprawling polluted megalopolis of Lima and Callao. The island is a natural resource that could be exploited for tourism.

References

External links

Official Site English/Spanish
{{coord, 12, 03, 38, S, 77, 14, 23, W, region:PE-CAL_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Ports and harbours of Peru Transport in Lima Economy of Lima Callao Region