Puerto Barú: development or whim?

In the debate about port development in Chiriquí, one question becomes unavoidable.
Does it make sense to build two large-scale ports so close to each other?

While the Puerto Barú project continues to generate concern about its impact on the mangroves of David, Puerto Armuelles is progressing as a real, technically and environmentally more responsible alternative, with institutional support and a significant degree of progress.

Puerto Armuelles: a recognized priority

In recent statements, the President of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, made it clear that Puerto Armuelles‘s a priority on his agenda, also highlighting that it shows 63% progress.

Puerto Armuelles is then presented as a political and strategic decision to promote port infrastructure where there are already favorable conditions, operational experience and lower environmental risk.

Two ports so close to each other?

The one himself Lynker Technical Report The study, prepared to evaluate alternatives to Puerto Barú, provides a key piece of information to understand the magnitude of the territorial debate:

“Puerto Armuelles is located in the Chiriquí region, southwest of Panama, about 80 km west of David and the proposed site of Puerto Barú.”


Report Lynker “Panama. An alternative to Puerto Barú: Puerto Armuelles”, February 6, 2025, p. 2.

Eighty kilometers within the same province do not represent an exclusionary distance from a logistical or economic point of view, which also offers relevant comparative advantages: it has existing infrastructure, a deep draft, and a direct connection to the Pan-American Highway; avoids impact on protected mangroves.

Given this background, a legitimate question arises:
Why insist on a second port that involves higher environmental costs when there is an already advanced and functional alternative?

Progress with nature, not at its expense

Puerto Armuelles will generate the same amount that Puerto Barú sells:Jobs, investment and progress for Panama without impacting a protected mangrove area. Unlike Puerto Barú, its development does not depend on extensive dredging or the alteration of key ecosystems for coastal protection and biodiversity in Chiriquí.

Panama needs development. Chiriquí needs opportunities. But progress cannot be built by sacrificing ecosystems that sustain life and the local economy.

The path is laid out.
Let’s choose progress with nature.
Let’s not allow unnecessary decisions to compromise David’s mangroves or the resilience of the Panamanian coast.

Panama can grow, in harmony with nature.