Authorities in Puerto Rico appear to have abandoned plans to build a new cargo port in the southern city of Ponce.

The Executive Director of Puerto Rico's San Juan Port Authority, Fernando Bonilla, told a news conference this month that breakbulk cargo operations would remain in the capital for the next eight years.

The Puerto Rican government had planned to move cargo terminals from San Juan to Ponce to make way for cruise and tourism facilities in the capital.

But the plans met resistance from shipping interests, worried that Ponce lacked adequate infrastructure. They also faced opposition from San Juan's port workers.

Bonilla said there was now agreement to move breakbulk cargo operations to a different part of San Juan port, allowing an upgrade of San Juan's waterfront to go ahead.

''Our intention has always been to seek a solution that is good for all parties, and we believe that with the alternative we are presenting we can achieve consensus,'' Bonilla said.

Puerto Rico opened bidding in 2004 for the planned $600 million project to build a new cargo port at Ponce.

The aim was to create a Caribbean hub in the US territory that could transship goods from markets in Asia and the US West Coast to the eastern coasts of North, Central and South America.

The first phase of construction for the 'Port of Americas' project was already underway. There had been hopes that by February next year the port would be able to handle 250,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) a year.

Ponce Mayor Francisco Zayas Seijo has criticized the change of plans, calling it a surprise.

The port project had been backed by Puerto Rico's major political parties, but the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA), which represents dockers at both San Juan and Ponce, described it as ''a sinister move'' that would have ''serious consequences for every Puerto Rican.''

It claimed that Ponce did not have the facilities to handle the increase in cargo and that transport costs to move goods inland would be higher.