Sweetheart clause for new port project

THE FINE PRINT in a contract for the construction and operation for 20 years of a container port in Isla Margarita, in Panama, Appears to have some sweetheart clauses.

The project is governed by a detailed concession agreement.

"… The ambitious port project will have three docks and will be located in an exclusive area of Colon, where it will compete with the terminals currently in operation in the Atlantic: Cristobal, Colon C ontainer Terminal and Manzanillo International Terminal. "

The core of the concession agreement seeks to ensure that the delicate financial balance of the project depends on economic, commercial, and even political circumstances.

An article in Prensa.com reports that "The law contract to build a container port in Isla Margarita, Colon, commits to an investment of $593 million and has clauses that are broadly advantageous if the operator decides to leave the country."

The contract states that "… it (the contract) may be terminated by the Company without liability or penalty, by notice of 60 days in advance to the State, at any time the company can justify and prove that there are economic changes as a result of acts or omissions by the State, directly or indirectly