A subsidiary of Chinese firm Jinzhao has won a $405m contract to build a port in Peru, one of the world’s top copper producers, Reuters reports.

Jinzhao Peru will build and operate the port in the south of the country for 30 years, Jose Salardi, head of state investment agency Proinversion, said Friday.

“We hope that construction begins by the end of 2025 or beginning of 2026, with the first phase of the port coming online around two years later,” he told Reuters.

Jinzhao will be the second Chinese firm to build and operate a port in Peru, which is second only to Chile in copper production.

In the north, a subsidiary of Cosco Shipping Ports is building the large Port of Chancay, set to begin operating at the end of this year.

Jinzhao’s port in the southern region of Ica is near its Pampa de Pongo iron project.

It will transport bulk goods as well as iron concentrate and copper, Proinversion told Reuters.

Jose Salardi said it would reactivate mining projects worth $15bn.