Puerto Barú: McKeown and Bacon clash over $250 million port project in Panama

The Puerto Barú multipurpose port project, led by U.S. developer John McKeown in Panama's Chiriquí province, faces strong opposition funded by U.S. billionaire Louis Bacon, who backs an alternative port proposal at Puerto Armuelles, about 80 km west of David. The project's cost is estimated at US$250 million, according to Puerto Barú, though another valuation cited by Bloomberg puts it at US$260 million.

Puerto Barú spans 124 hectares and includes plans for commercial, liquid cargo and tourism berths, container handling, storage facilities, silos, a logistics park, a marina and free-trade zone facilities, with the first phase of operations expected in the first and second quarters of 2028. The company led by McKeown presents it as Panama's first "green" port, designed to ease pressure on Panama City's commercial hubs and integrate into trade routes to North America and Asia.

The controversy centers on environmental resolution DEIA-IA-0003-2024, issued on January 16, 2024. Six Panamanian organizations, including the Centro de Incidencia Ambiental de Panamá (CIAM) and Adopta el Bosque Panamá, challenged the approval before the Supreme Court in case file 99129-2024, while a second case, file 50182-2025, also disputes the resolution without a final ruling yet issued. The project's developer filed criminal complaints in August 2025 against these two organizations for slander, defamation and crimes against the national economy, which led to precautionary measures freezing their bank accounts and other assets.

Bacon argued that those behind the project lack experience in developing or operating commercial ports and warned that the area is one of Panama's most environmentally sensitive, describing the legal actions against the NGOs as a form of judicial harassment against whistleblowers. McKeown responded that he would never have committed his resources to the development if he believed Puerto Barú would cause significant harm to the country, and rejected the Puerto Armuelles alternative as commercially unviable due to its greater distance from Chiriquí's main agricultural areas.

Panama's Minister of Environment, Juan Carlos Navarro, noted that the ministry is legally bound to honor the environmental approval granted by a previous administration and that it will abide by the Supreme Court's ruling, while expressing concern over the nature of the lawsuits against the NGOs. Bacon, owner of the Islas Secas ecotourism resort, funded an alternative plan to relocate the port to Puerto Armuelles and an assessment that estimated the project's environmental cost at around US$30 million over 20 years, while a 2021 economic study commissioned by the company projected the creation of more than 1,100 jobs.