Bananapuerto Puerto Bananero S.A.

MIGA guaranteed a shareholder loan from Dole Food Company, Inc., to the Ecuadorian company Bananapuerto Puerto Bananero S.A. The guarantee, MIGA's first for a project in Ecuador's transportation sector, offers $15.4 million in coverage against the risk of expropriation. The project involves the construction and operation of an international port on the island of Trinitaria, needed to handle the country's growing fruit exports. The planned port will contain fully modernized equipment and will be accessible by two major highways.

The new port operations will initially provide approximately 300 construction jobs in an area of high unemployment. Thereafter, an estimated 235 new local jobs will be created for the handling of bulk and containerized shipments to the area. Once operational, the new facilities will allow for increased exports, estimated at $200 million annually, thereby boosting the availability of foreign exchange and supporting the dollarization process, as well as sustaining the growing and vital fruit export sector in Ecuador. Moreover, it may provide an incentive for an increase in fresh produce farming. The new port facilities should help attract other foreign investors.