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The Consorcio Interoceánico de Guatemala S.A. (CIGSA) officially launched the Centro Logístico Internacional San Jorge, the first economic unit of Guatemala’s Interoceanic Corridor, a private initiative that seeks to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through a 372-kilometer multimodal logistics platform and envisions a total estimated investment of US$15 billion in infrastructure.
The project is considered one of the largest logistics infrastructure investments in Central America and is designed to strengthen regional competitiveness, attract foreign investment, boost international trade, and generate new economic opportunities for Guatemala and neighboring countries. During the presentation, which brought together more than 400 attendees, including business leaders, investors, government officials, and diplomatic representatives from various countries, CIGSA emphasized that the corridor aims to position the region as a strategic hub within global supply chains.
The infrastructure will consist of three main components: the Centro Logístico Internacional San Jorge, on the Atlantic coast, a second logistics complex on the Pacific coast called the Centro Logístico Internacional San Luis, and a 372-kilometer interoceanic corridor dedicated to freight rail transport. This will be complemented by service roads, pipelines, fiber optic systems, free trade zones, industrial parks, and power transmission lines.
The first development, the Centro Logístico Internacional San Jorgewill be located in Puerto Barrios, Izabal, on the Atlantic coast, covering more than 22 million square meters of privately owned land. The complex will include port terminals, a cargo airport, industrial zones, commercial areas, energy infrastructure, warehouses, and specialized logistics services to support international trade.
From an economic perspective, the project aims to leverage Guatemala’s geographic location to become a complementary logistics alternative to existing infrastructure such as the Panama Canal. According to CIGSA, the platform will reduce transportation times and costs for goods moving between Asia, the Americas, Europe, and Africa, facilitating import, export, manufacturing, and nearshoring operations.
During the event, CIGSA President Guillermo Catalán stated that the corridor should not be seen solely as an infrastructure project for Guatemala, but as an international trade route with the potential to transform the regional economy.
“What we are doing is building a route for global trade. That is the Interoceanic Corridor, and as goods pass through our territory, they open opportunities for us to provide services, for nearshoring, for new jobs, and new opportunities that don’t exist today”, Catalán said.
The businessman explained that the corridor has required more than 25 years of technical, legal, and territorial organization work. During that period, more than 3,500 families were voluntarily integrated, and a continuous territorial strip was consolidated that crosses six departments and 22 municipalities, becoming the foundation for the development of the planned infrastructure.
One of the most relevant aspects of the project is its potential impact on economic activity. According to estimates presented by CIGSA, the corridor could contribute approximately 1.5 percentage points to Guatemala’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) once it becomes operational. Furthermore, the company believes that the growing demand from international trade opens opportunities to capture a portion of the global container traffic that currently faces logistical limitations on various routes around the world.
Catalán indicated that the total investment of US$15 billion will be executed in stages and through the participation of national and international investors. Among the project’s partners and participants are businesspeople from Guatemala, the United States, Japan, Spain, Chile, and El Salvador. The model envisions the gradual development of each component as port operators, logistics companies, industrial developers, and other stakeholders in international trade are incorporated.
In terms of port infrastructure, the projected investment is approximately US$2.913 billion. The first phase anticipates a capacity of approximately 5.34 million TEUs (containers) annually, while the full expansion would allow for the handling of up to 7.5 million TEUs per year through six berths for vessels of up to 24,000 TEUs, considered among the largest in global maritime trade.
The president of CIGSA indicated that the first stage of the Centro Logístico Internacional San Jorge alone will require approximately US$1 million.
With the launch of the Centro Logístico Internacional San Jorge, Guatemala’s Interoceanic Corridor officially enters its physical construction phase, marking the beginning of a project that seeks to expand Central America’s logistics capacity, attract new investments, strengthen regional economic integration, and transform Guatemala into a new strategic hub for global trade.
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