The fifth Urabá port that skips dredging

Urabá is getting a fifth port. It’s called Puerto Progreso, it will be built just a few kilometers from Puerto Antioquia, and its central pitch is never needing dredging. The project already passed its public hearing before the ANI and is looking to close USD 1.3 billion in investment. Here’s what’s known so far, and why it doesn’t compete head-on with the port already operating there.

Where the project is located, and why it skips dredging

Puerto Progreso will sit in the Nueva Unión village, part of the San Jorge district in Turbo. It’s very close to Nueva Colonia, where Puerto Antioquia operates. According to Andrés Bustos, the project’s manager, the area has a natural depth of between 17 and 22 meters. That’s enough to receive large vessels without needing to dredge the seabed.

That feature isn’t just technical, it’s also financial. Without capital or maintenance dredging costs, the project relies on a 2019 regulation. It allows new ports with 17 natural meters or more to request concessions of up to 40 years, instead of the shorter terms typically granted. With the sector’s usual extensions, that term could stretch to 80 years.

Three businesses in one port

The project is split into three components. The first is a liquids and energy transition terminal. It will be able to unload liquefied natural gas and LPG, load palm oil and biofuels, and supply vessels with low-emission fuels. The second is a dry cargo and container terminal, specifically focused on transshipment. That’s a function that doesn’t exist yet in Urabá, and one that competes internationally with Caribbean ports like Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica. The third is a services free trade zone, where gas-based power generation, biofuel production, and bunkering could all take place.

How much it costs, and how it will be paid for

Total investment is around USD 1.3 billion, with a classic structure of 70 % debt and 30 % equity.

Of that total, the services free trade zone needs about USD 20 million to get started. The liquids terminal needs close to USD 240 million, and the container platform, the largest of the three, around USD 1.1 billion. The project has already partnered with the Altura fund for initial structuring. It’s now looking to close the remaining equity through investment bank EBS Finance, with debt coming from multilateral lenders and national banks over a 15 to 20 year term. It’s worth noting that earlier reports, before this interview, had cited higher figures, up to USD 2.8 billion. That suggests the budget has been getting more precise as the project advances through structuring.

How big it could get

The container platform would start with capacity for 1.5 million TEU a year, with room to expand up to 4 million TEU. On the liquids side, initial volume would be around 1.5 million tons, with capacity to grow to 4 or 5 million. The port’s natural depth would allow vessels of up to 24,000 TEU to dock. Those are the size of the largest ships in the world today, and none can currently berth at any Colombian port.

Where the process stands

The public hearing presenting the project to the ANI took place on December 3, 2025, in Turbo. More than 250 people attended, including community leaders and local authorities. The project has already responded to every subsequent requirement and request, and is now waiting for the terms-setting resolution to approach banks. The formal awarding of the concession and contract signing will only happen once full financial close is reached.

Does it take cargo away from Puerto Antioquia?

According to Bustos, “they complement each other, and eventually they’ll also compete, as happens in the port world.” But the stated goal is for Puerto Progreso not to cannibalize any other terminal in the area. The reason is that it targets a niche nobody in Turbo is covering yet. Energy transition, liquids, and a transshipment platform that doesn’t exist in the region yet. That combination, according to the project, would attract more frequencies and larger vessels. That would end up benefiting the entire Urabá port cluster, Puerto Antioquia included.

As we’ve been tracking Urabá’s port infrastructure development closely, this project confirms something that was already taking shape. The region isn’t betting everything on a single port, it’s consolidating into a full logistics cluster. At Fenix, we track every development in these projects closely, because how cargo gets distributed among them will define the most efficient routes for our clients in the years ahead.

Sources

• Portafolio — Antioquia’s new megaport: Puerto Progreso will be possible without dredging (Spanish)
• ANI — Public hearing on the 40-year concession request for Puerto Progreso de Urabá (Spanish)
• El Colombiano — A fifth port is coming to Urabá: it will move natural gas and biofuel (Spanish)
• Infobae — Colombia will have a new port in Urabá (Spanish)
• Valora Analitik — Puerto Progreso de Urabá advances in its concession (Spanish)