The Port of Balboa is the terminal port for the Pacific Ocean end of the Panama Canal. The Port of Balboa is just ten kilometers southwest and a district of Panama City, Panama’s capital, and five kilometers west-southwest of the Port of Panama. The Port of Balboa was named for Vasco Nunez de Balboa, the first European known to have seen the Pacific Ocean from the Americas. In 2000, about 2300 people lived in the Port of Balboa.

The town was founded by the United States while they built the Panama Canal. Before being drained and filled, the area was occupied by marshlands and a few small ranches. Today, it contains vast harbor installations, warehouses, dry docks, marine and rail repair shops, and a coaling plant. Its sister port, the Port of Cristobal, lies on the eastern end of the Canal.

Balboa was formerly located at La Boca French Port on Panama’s Pacific coast. The United States refurbished the port when they started building the Panama Canal, naming it Ancon.

Since the Port of Balboa was inaugurated in 1909, it has served a vital role in worldwide maritime trade, as it was the only port between Santa Cruz, Mexico, and El Callao, Peru, that could handle the era’s biggest vessels of three thousand tons.

From the early 20th Century until 1979 and the abolishing of the United States’ “Canal Zone,” the Port of Balboa was the zone’s administrative center and a territory of the United States. Today, the Canal’s former administrative building houses the Panama Canal Administration. In 1915, a US Navy VLF-transmission station sent orders to US submarines from the Port of Balboa.

As a US territory, the Port of Balboa contained American schools, post office, a commissary, a cafeteria, a service center, fire and police stations, and a yacht club and other recreational facilities run by the US government.

Since it became part of the Republic of Panama, the Port of Balboa has been redeveloped, and its port has been enhanced. The houses and commercial areas are now privately-owned. Most of the former public institutions, like the schools, have been closed. The Port of Balboa is now part of Panama City’s suburb of Ancon and what Panamanians call the “areas revertidas.”

The Panama Ports Company (PPC) has been the responsible for managing the ports at either end of the Panama Canal, the Port of Balboa and the Port of Cristobal. The company operates by concession granted by the government of Panama in 1997. A subsidiary of the HPH Group, the PPC is transforming both the ports into “mega-ports” to increase capacity to 6.5 million TEUs per year. The PPC’s objective is to facilitate global commerce and economy growth by developing and modernizing the ports’ infrastructures and services.

Since it was opened in late 2000, the Port of Balboa container terminal has been recognized as one of Panama’s most important terminals. Within its first six months of operations, the Port of Balboa container terminal had handled 380 thousand TEUs, its maximum capacity. Expansion projects modernized the port, and a renewed, larger-capacity facility began operating in early 2005.

The Port of Balboa covers 182 hectares and contains four berths for containers and two multi-purpose berths. In total, the berths are over 2.4 thousand meters long with alongside depth of 15 meters. The Port of Balboa has 18 super post-Panamax and Panamax quay cranes and 44 gantry cranes. The Port of Balboa also contains 2.1 thousand square meters of warehouse space.

The Port of Balboa is strategically positioned to be a major player in world commerce and transportation. The world’s biggest shipping lines call on the port regularly, and the Port of Balboa handles a third of all cargo moving through Panama’s ports. In 2006, the Port of Balboa reached a new high in handling one million TEUs of containerized cargo. In 2007, it received the Maersk Seletar, the first post-Panamax vessel with capacity for 6500 TEUs. Also in 2007, it started weekly service to post-Panamax ships operating between Asia and the west coast of Latin America. The Port of Balboa is also a cargo hub for South America and the Caribbean.

While the Port of Balboa is not a popular tourist destination in itself, it is a suburb of Panama City. Thousands of cruise vessels pass through the Panama Canal every year. Passengers and visitors will find useful services at the Port of Balboa, including a post office, two banks with ATMs, and a café. The old YMCA building now has an Internet café and a few travel agents. The Port of Balboa also has several bed and breakfasts, a hotel, and a hostel.

Just south of the Port of Balboa is the Amador Causeway, a wonderful are for picnics, long walks, and bicycling. The Causeway offers beautiful views of the Panama City skyline and waterfront area. The Albrook Airport and Albrook Mall are just five minutes north of the Port of Balboa. The Gran Terminal in Albrook Mall is the hub for all buses to and from Panama City.