Peru’s Chancay Megaport Fight Reaches the Constitutional Court as Washington Watches
PERU · GEOPOLITICS
Key Facts
- —What happened: Cosco Shipping has taken the fight over Peru’s Chancay megaport to the Constitutional Court.
- —The issue: Whether state regulator Ositrán may supervise the privately built terminal and set its tariffs.
- —The catch: The legal battle rages on even as the port breaks traffic records every quarter.
- —How we got here: A Lima appeals court restored Ositrán’s powers on 1 July, and Cosco’s appeal was admitted on 24 July.
- —Washington’s line: The US State Department says Peru is losing sovereignty at Chancay to “predatory” owners.
- —What comes next: The Constitutional Court ruling will set the rules for private infrastructure nationwide.
Peru’s Chancay megaport is back in the spotlight on two fronts at once. Cosco Shipping has carried its fight against state oversight to the Constitutional Court, while Washington keeps the Chinese-run terminal in its sights.
The case now sitting in the Constitutional Court
On 24 July the Second Constitutional Chamber of Lima admitted Cosco’s appeal and ordered the file sent upward. The decision, Resolution No. 16, was reported by Peruvian media on 5 August.
The Constitutional Court will now have the final word on the Chancay megaport dispute. It can annul the appeals ruling or decide the substance of the case itself.
Cosco asks the court to declare its constitutional lawsuit founded. That would strip the transport-infrastructure regulator, Ositrán, of supervision and sanction powers over the terminal.
Ositrán’s president, Verónica Zambrano, says the company is judicializing the case to avoid legal obligations. She argues the process simply generates costs for the Peruvian state.
How the Chancay megaport ended up in court
The root of the conflict is a technical finding by Indecopi, Peru’s competition authority, in April 2025. It found no effective competition in four essential services at the terminal.
That finding opened the door for Ositrán to regulate tariffs, and Cosco sued to stop it. A first-instance judge sided with the company in February, and the state appealed.
On 1 July the appeals chamber reversed the ruling and restored the regulator’s full powers. It found no certain and imminent threat to the company’s rights.
One detail now haunts the company’s case. Cosco’s general manager, Carlos Tejada, had publicly accepted tariff regulation if Indecopi found no competition.
Two arguments, one precedent
Cosco says the terminal is a fully private investment, not a state concession. Regulating it like a concessioned port, it argues, changes the rules under which it committed over US$1.3 billion.
The company accepts oversight by the port authority, customs, migration and health agencies. Its objection targets Ositrán alone.
The state’s answer is that competence follows the service, not the ownership model. Chancay is public-use infrastructure, the regulator says, so users need protection whoever owns it.
The ruling on the Chancay megaport will reach far beyond one port. Lawyers on both sides see it defining how Peru treats private projects that deliver public services.
Washington keeps the pressure on
The US State Department said in February that Peru was losing sovereignty at Chancay. It described the port’s Chinese owners as “predatory” after the first pro-Cosco ruling.
In April, US congresswoman María Elvira Salazar and veteran diplomat Michael Kozak went further. They warned the terminal could serve military as well as commercial purposes.
Washington has also moved inside the port itself. It donated cargo scanners that arrived in June, and Peruvian customs opened a trial phase for US screening technology in early August.
The regional precedent is fresh in every capital. Panama’s Supreme Court voided the CK Hutchison port concessions in January, and the government seized the terminals in February.
A port that keeps growing through the fight
The terminal handled 200,000 standard containers in the first half of 2026, up 71 percent on a year earlier. Bulk and general cargo added 987,000 tonnes.
The Chancay megaport is now Peru’s second container port, with about 10 percent of national movement. It overtook Paita in the first quarter and is closing on the leader, Callao.
In August Cosco added a service linking Paita, Chancay and Caldera in Costa Rica. The route feeds Peruvian farm exports directly onto Asia-bound ships.
The master plan totals US$3.5 billion, and less than half has been invested so far. The company has said further investment depends on the tariff definition the courts will shape.
What to watch from here
The Constitutional Court has no published timetable for the case. Its docket typically takes months, so the uncertainty will run well into 2027.
A separate front opened in June, when Peru’s comptroller reported alleged irregularities in the port’s development. ProInversión, the state investment agency, rejected those findings.
Politics will keep the pot boiling regardless. President Keiko Fujimori’s government leans toward Washington, while China has been Peru’s biggest trade partner for over a decade.
For exporters and importers, the stakes are practical rather than ideological. Tariff regulation would change the cost of using the fastest route between South America and Asia.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Peru’s Chancay port before the Constitutional Court?
Cosco Shipping appealed a ruling that restored state regulator Ositrán’s powers over the terminal. The court will give the final word on whether the privately built port can be supervised and tariff-regulated.
What does the United States say about the Chancay megaport?
The US State Department said in February that Peru was losing sovereignty to “predatory” Chinese owners. US lawmakers have warned of possible military dual use, and Washington has donated cargo scanners to the port.
Who owns and operates the Chancay megaport?
Cosco Shipping Ports Chancay Perú, a subsidiary of China’s state-owned Cosco Shipping, holds 60 percent and runs the terminal. Peruvian miner Volcan holds the remaining 40 percent.
Connected Coverage
We covered the appeals ruling in A Peru court hands the state full oversight of China’s Chancay port, the first-instance decision in Peru court backs the state in a fight over China’s Chancay port and the traffic milestone in Peru’s Chancay port overtakes Paita in container traffic.
Sources
Gestión; El Comercio; Índice, August 2026.
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