The Chancay Port project in Peru, being built by China's COSCO Shipping, could facilitate trade with the entire Latin American region and cut the time it takes to ship products by almost two weeks.

The $3.5 billion mega project, identified as a gateway from Latin America to Asia, could facilitate direct shipping between the two regions, said Carlos Aquino, an economist and director of the Center for Asian Studies at Peru's National University of San Marcos.

Chancay also has the potential to become South America's main logistics hub because it could facilitate the shipment of products from mountain and jungle regions, Aquino said. Opening a direct shipping route will also be more cost-effective to export products to China.

Alejandro Indacochea, president of Indacochea Asociados, a law firm that specializes in oil and gas, said he expects the port will cut shipment times.

Other countries in the region could also benefit from the port. Brazil, a large buyer of Chinese products and supplier of commodities to China, could benefit from the port as could nearby countries such as Ecuador, Colombia and Chile, Indacochea said. The port could support the development of the entire Peruvian coast, as well as agricultural and mining exports.

"If Brazil could send its cargo through the port of Chancay and directly to China, it is said that it could save perhaps up to 15 days or a little more (in transport time). So, I believe that this is another great benefit," Aquino told China Daily.

China's state-owned COSCO Shipping holds a 60 percent stake in the Chancay Port project, the first phase of which could be completed later this year. COSCO invested $1.3 billion in the first phase of the mega port, which is about 83 percent complete.

Challenges remain

However, Indacochea said that challenges remain in the development of the port, including developing a complementary infrastructure network, integrating the port with an industrial park and railway networks, and facilitating the routing of exports through it.

"This project is in the pipeline, but I don't think the geopolitical and economic scope and magnitude it has for Latin America is fully appreciated," Indacochea said.

More than 35 percent of Peru's export trade is directed to China, which consumes 80 percent of the Andean nation's copper exports, Indacochea said.

In Beijing late last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with visiting Peruvian President Dina Boluarte Zegarra.

The two leaders said they aim to boost trade and strengthen economic ties. They also agreed to upgrade an existing free trade agreement. China and Peru signed an FTA in 2009, the first such agreement that Beijing signed with a country in Latin America.

The meeting resulted in cooperation agreements covering various fields, including the digital economy and scientific and technological innovation.

The writer is a freelance journalist for China Daily.