Chinese President Xi Jinping will inaugurate Peru’s Chancay mega-port on Thursday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima.

Located about 80 kilometres from the Peruvian capital, Chancay will be the first Chinese port in South America and will initially consist of four berths at an investment of $1.3 billion, with the final version to include 15 berths at a total investment of $3.5 billion.

The deep-water port (approximately 18 metres), which will begin construction in 2021, will be able to accommodate the world’s largest container ships with a capacity of 24,000 containers.

Chankai will shave at least ten days off the current 35-day voyage from Peru to China, eliminating the need for ships to stop at the Mexican port of Manzanilla or Long Beach, California.