Mitsubishi Corporation (MC), Japan's largest trading company and a member of the Mitsubishi keiretsu, announced its entry into the sea port terminal business in Santa Marta, Colombia.

MC  joins forces with Daabon Group, which develops sea port terminal business activities along Colombia's Caribbean Coast, to establish a port holding company in Santa Marta. MC will participate in the joint venture with a 25% shareholding. Daabon engages in a wide range of business activities such as the production and export of organic palm oil, banana, coffee and bio-fuel as well as sea port terminal operations.

Located on the Caribbean Sea, the Port of Santa Marta is a multi-functional terminal which mainly handles coal, fuel oil and palm oil, as well as container cargo, grain and general cargo. As the only port that has jetties with enough draft (18m) for post-Panamax vessels, Santa Marta has the third largest cargo volume in Colombia.

Due to steady economic growth in Colombia and the expansion of the Panama Canal, import/export volumes at Santa Marta are expected to increase. Therefore, there are several ongoing plans to expand the capacity of the port so that Santa Marta will play an even more important role as a transportation hub.

MC intends to continue collaborating with Daabon, one of the largest business groups in Santa Marta, the capital of the Department of Magdalena, for the expansion of port terminal business activities in Colombia. Developing new business in this sector is also consistent with the Japanese government's strategy of promoting the export of infrastructure-related industries and systems.