Matarani is a port city in Arequipa Region

Arequipa Region

Arequipa is a region in southwestern Peru. It is bordered by the Ica, Ayacucho, Apurímac and Cusco regions on the north; the Puno Region on the east; the Moquegua Region on the south; and the Pacific Ocean on the west...

, Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

. It is a major port on the southern coast of Peru. The port is operated by Tisur.

Pacific Ocean terminal of the Interoceanic Highway

Matarani is one of the 3 ports which comprise the Peruvian termini of the Interoceanic Highway

Interoceanic Highway

The Interoceanic Highway or Trans-oceanic highway is an international, transcontinental highway in Peru and Brazil that is conecting the two coutries . It entails the renovation and construction of roughly 2,600 kilometers of roads and 22 bridges...

. As such it is an important element in the current plan between the governments of Peru and Brazil to integrate an Atlantic-Pacific corridor between the two nations. This corridor would give Brazil access to the Pacific while not having to pay the costs, restrictions, and distance of the Panama Canal. It also will give Peru access to the Atlantic via a series of ports on the Atlantic coast allowing faster and easier access to the atlantic markets. It will also allow Peru to use its access to the Atlantic via the Amazon river through Peru's ports of Iquitos, Pucallpa, and Yurimaguas.