Ecuador Offers Concession Of Manta Air Base To China, Declines To Renew Contract With U.S.

Quito, Ecuador (AHN) - Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa will not renew its contract with the United States when the agreement for American use of the Manta airport base expires on 2009. But Correa offered the air base's concession to China during his state visit to the Asian country.

According to the Ecuadorian leader's website, the shift in contract partners is to make Manta China's gateway to Latin America. Correa had expressed during his presidential campaign Ecuador needs to have more Asian investments to help the country upgrade its infrastructure requirements and to expand its international trade.

Business News America said a subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based company Hutchinson Port Holdings, the Terminales del Ecuador, was given the Manta port concession.

It is not only Ecuador, which will benefit from the Chinese entry into Latin America. Brazil will likewise profit since Ecuador and Brazil inked an agreement building the Manta-Manaus link by rail. Aside from Terminales, other Chinese firms are interested in investing in the rail project. Ecuador also wants to connect highways with neighbors Colombia, Peru and Brazil.

The Manila Air Base shares a common runway with Quito's Eloy Alfaro International Airport terminal, but there are two buildings to house their offices. The airbase is for cargo, while the international airport is for passengers.

Manta is presently used by the U.S. Air Force's Southern Command to combat illegal cocaine trade in the region, with 475 American military personnel working in the air base. President Correa's condition for Ecuador to renew its 10-year agreement with the U.S. was for a reciprocity agreement wherein Ecuador can also build an airbase in Miami, Florida.