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Maersk has confirmed its interest in securing a permanent operating concession for Panama's Port of Balboa, where its APM Terminals subsidiary has managed the Pacific-side container terminal since February 24, 2026. The declaration, made by Maersk's Latin America president Antonio Domínguez to Panamanian media on October 28 and highlighted internationally on November 4, comes as Panama prepares to award long-term contracts for Balboa and Cristóbal following a Supreme Court ruling that invalidated CK Hutchison's previous concession. The two ports handled a combined 3.89 million TEUs in 2025, approximately 39% of Panama's container throughput. APM Terminals operates Balboa temporarily, while MSC's Terminal Investment Limited operates Cristóbal. Neither company has been awarded a permanent concession, and Panama has not announced a definitive tender timetable.
Two Ports. Two Shipping Giants.
One Unfinished Concession Battle.
Balboa
Next to Panama Cityunder previous operator
economic consideration$26.1M
Cristóbal
Colón / Atlantic canal approachunder previous operator
economic consideration$15.8M
02 / From court ruling to the next concession
Balboa Is the Second-Largest
Container Gateway in Panama
| Terminal / coast | Operator in Nov 2026 | 2025 throughput | 2025 growth | Concession context | Commercial significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manzanillo InternationalAtlantic / Colón | SSA Marine MIT | 2.861M TEU | +5.5% | SEPARATE OPERATOR Not a former PPC terminal |
Panama's largest container terminal by 2025 throughput. Competes for Atlantic transshipment and liner connectivity. |
| BalboaPacific / Panama City | APMT Panamá / Maersk | 2.677M TEU | +1.8% | TEMPORARY Future long-term operator not selected |
Second-largest national container gateway. Its Pacific position and 2025 volume make it the central target of Maersk's stated interest. |
| Colón Container TerminalAtlantic / Colón | Colón Container Terminal | 1.737M TEU | +10.2% | SEPARATE OPERATOR Not included in interim Balboa–Cristóbal awards |
Major competing Atlantic terminal with substantial regional transshipment activity. |
| PSA Panama / RodmanPacific | PSA Panama | 1.355M TEU | −2.1% | SEPARATE OPERATOR Outside former PPC concession |
Existing Pacific alternative to Balboa for container lines and terminal calls. |
| CristóbalAtlantic / Colón | TIL Panamá / MSC | 1.211M TEU | +9.4% | TEMPORARY Future long-term operator not selected |
Former PPC sister terminal, now temporarily managed by a separate carrier-affiliated operator. |
What the interim contracts reveal
Approved economic consideration for the temporary operating concession, up to 18 months.
Approved economic consideration for the corresponding temporary arrangement.
Aggregate of the two approvals. Not an estimate of permanent concession value or terminal profit.
Four issues in the permanent concession process
Panama has yet to publish a confirmed comprehensive schedule and final evaluation criteria for the replacement long-term concessions.
Future terms may need to address transparent berth allocation, access for competing shipping lines and fair terminal-service conditions.
Long-term certainty could support new equipment, maintenance and technology spending. No binding investment package for a new Balboa award is established.
Separate investment-treaty and concession-related proceedings continue. Claimed damages are contested demands, not judgments or money already owed.
Separate development pipeline: Corozal and Telfers
$2.6BEstimated combined investment in two proposed new Panama Canal Authority terminal developments. The authority forecasts 5–6 million TEUs of additional annual capacity after development. This is not part of the Balboa and Cristóbal replacement-concession process, and the capacity does not yet exist.
What Could a Long-Term
Balboa Concession Be Worth?
Set the proposed concession terms
Only the historical volume and temporary consideration reference are published facts. All permanent-contract economics below are assumptions.
Discounted modeled operating cash flow less upfront investment over the chosen concession term.
After operating costs, consideration and sustaining investment, before tax and financing.
Modeled annual volume × selected revenue per TEU.
Volume required to cover the selected recurring costs.
First modeled year cumulative undiscounted cash recovers upfront investment.
Year-one operating bridge
Illustrative USD millions, not actual reported financial performance.
Concession-duration sensitivity
Calculation method and limitations
Annual terminal revenue = TEUs × assumed revenue per TEU. Annual cash contribution = revenue − (TEUs × variable cost per TEU) − fixed expenses − annual concession consideration − sustaining capital expenditure.
NPV = − upfront capital expenditure + sum of annual cash contributions discounted at the chosen rate. Volume grows annually at the selected rate; all unit revenues, unit costs, fixed annual costs, concession payments and sustaining capital expenditure remain constant in nominal dollars. No terminal residual value is assumed.
Simple payback uses cumulative, undiscounted cash contributions. It is not a financing payback or a forecast of investment recovery. The model excludes taxes, interest, debt service, working capital, inflation, construction delays, concession guarantees, equipment replacement cycles beyond entered sustaining capital expenditure and potential restrictions on terminal operations.
Factual boundary: The published $26.1 million concerns the temporary concession approved in February 2026 for up to 18 months. No permanent concession duration, new consideration, revenue, EBITDA, investment obligation or winning bid has been publicly established by the sources reviewed. All scenarios here are ShipUniverse assumptions for sensitivity testing.
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