As part of the actions to reactivate the port of La Unión, the authorities promote the project to create a shipyard in the area that takes advantage of the country’s strategic location and the lack of maintenance and repair centers for large vessels on the Pacific coast of America .

The government is working to make the project known to international investors who can become strategic partners, and many have already shown interest, the latest being the British firm Harland & Wolff, a shipyard company that operates four platforms in the United Kingdom, reported the commissioner of Strategic Projects, Cristian Flores.

He added that this company has had experience in the shipyard industry since 1861 and was recently acquired by a renewable energy conglomerate that injected capital and is renovating some of the platforms.

As he explained, his executives have learned about the La Unión project and consider it an initiative with prospects for success, highlighting that the country would offer a unique service in the region.

“El Salvador has great opportunities to develop the ship repair and maintenance industry, without competition from North America to South America” — said Harland & Wolff representative Graham Courser.

Given his interest, Couser reported that a delegation from the European company will visit the country in February to see first-hand the entire plan being developed by the government of President Nayib Bukele.

“Harland & Wolff has all the credibility and experience in the port industry to be great allies for the development of the shipyard in El Salvador. They will arrive in the country in February to advance on the details” — confirmed Commissioner Flores.

“They highly value the exchanges that El Salvador has already had with the large cruise companies, since they are important potential clients to make the project profitable. They also plan to contact them” — he added.

On previous occasions, Flores has said that the La Unión shipyard would become a platform for economic revitalization that could generate around 6,000 jobs and produce up to $75 million in its first year of operation.

The platform, which could measure around 100 meters wide by 400 meters long, with a surface that can be raised to carry out interventions such as repairs, painting, electrical maintenance, plumbing, has attracted the attention of investors by becoming the only one that would offer these services from the north of Mexico to Ecuador throughout the Pacific strip.