Ecuador's Correa Offers Manta Base to China

Text of report by Ecuadoran newspaper El Universo website on 23 November

[Unattributed report: "Correa Proposes to China that Manta Be Its Trade Gateway"]

The government, which has plans to turn Manta into an international commercial airport, announced yesterday that a Chinese firm may obtain the concession to run it.

President Rafael Correa said in Beijing that this is something of "tremendous interest" to the Chinese airlines that are looking at South America.

He went on to say that Ecuador is looking into the airport model of Dubai (United Arab Emirates) with a view towards making Manta a link between Latin America and China.

The acting president of the republic, Lenin Moreno, confirmed that there are plans to spur the development of the city and that as of 2009, when the Manta Base agreement with United States expires, the airport will be solely commercial.

The government has also announced its interest in possibly granting a concession to run the airport to an Asian company.

The government has its eyes on the development of Manta, and against this backdrop the airport there is one of its focal points. Acting President of the Republic Lenin Moreno confirmed that there are plans to spur the development of the city of Manta, clarifying that this has to do with commerce and tourism, not the military.

Moreno said that the government is sticking to its decision not to renew the agreement under which the United States military can use the Manta Base. He was speaking at a press conference called to explain the objectives of the workshop entitled "2007-2010 National Development Plan; Tax Situation and Principles of Redistributional Equity," which assembly members have been attending since yesterday.

The decision is that as of 2009, when the current agreement expires, both the port and airport of Manta will be used exclusively for commercial purposes. According to the vice president, the aim is to have "Ecuador become the gateway for trade" between China and South America.

He said this in connection with the remarks made by President Rafael Correa, who is on a swing through Asian countries.Correa said that a Chinese firm could obtain the concession to run the Manta Airport and turn it into an international terminal, something that is of "tremendous interest" to the Chinese airlines that have their eye on South America, the EFE agency reported yesterday.

According to Moreno, what Correa did was merely to invite Chinese investors to capitalize on Manta's geopolitical advantages and on the Manta-Manaus axis, as a gateway for bringing their products into South America.

In Beijing, Correa said that Ecuador is looking into the airport model of Dubai (United Arab Emirates) to turn Manta into a link between China and Latin America and to promote business.

"Let's hope that this link can be achieved, because the neoliberalism that jolted South America left us worse off in terms of airline routes between our countries than in the 1990s, not to mention how long it takes to get to China," he said.

The chief of state talked about the need to "make up for lost time and ground in connections between Latin American countries." He then mentioned that the Quito-Manaus flight, which is now almost a reality, could mark the beginning of such an effort at a time when the countries of Latin America are undergoing profound changes, "and in South America there is a conviction about integration."

"In any event, even if a Chinese airline is the one that links us through a direct flight, the business is going to remain in Latin America," Correa said in response to a question about why one or several Latin American airlines do not offer the direct flight that businesspeople, politicians, and tourists are demanding.

"There is a straight line between Ecuador and China. A direct flight from China with connections to the rest of South America would draw us closer together," he added.

Interior Minister Gustavo Larrea said for his part in Quito that the airport at Manta would be for flights to Asia, because it is the closest gateway for foreign trade and offers strategic advantages.

Originally published by El Universo website, Guayaquil, in Spanish 23 Nov 07.

(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Americas. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

Source: BBC Monitoring Americas