Palua port (Port Code:VEPAL) is situated on the south bank of the River Orinoco at Mile 181.4, approx 1.5nm of San Felix. The port consists of a floating and marginal pier. The floating pier is made up of five sections bolted together and fixed to the ground by supports and anchors. The marginal pier is a steel structure supported by steel piles. The port is used to export iron ore and the loading and unloading of general cargo. Approx 198 vessels visit the port annually. Vessels up to 100,000DWT with draughts of 13.1m at high river or 9.7m at low river can be handled.
Palua Port Reconstruction Project in Venezuela was complete in 2015. The output capacity of Palua Port was only 3,500,000 tons per annum because the devices of the port was aging. Before the project, the storage of cargo the stockyard did not meet cargo’s growing demand. Then the reconstruction started in 2012. The reconstruction mainly consisted of the renewal of the devices and the dilatation of the port stockyard. After the project, the handling capacity of the port increases to 7,200,000 tons per annum.