In the early morning hours of August 5, 2026, the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala approved the General Law of the National Port System, Decree 20-2026, marking a historic milestone for the country. For more than twenty years, Guatemala’s port system operated under scattered provisions contained in different laws; however, the new law seeks to leave this behind, creating a unified regulatory framework for the planning, regulation, oversight, and operation of ports in Guatemala.
The General Law of the National Port System seeks to modernize the port sector through the creation of a central authority responsible for coordinating public port policies, planning infrastructure projects, regulating the sector’s activities, and overseeing commercial ports, both public and private. It also introduces a comprehensive regulatory framework applicable to port infrastructure, concessions, authorizations, private participation, oversight, and the sanctioning regime, with the goal of improving port efficiency, legal certainty, and the sector’s competitiveness.
This law is expected to have a significant impact on current and future port infrastructure, particularly on port development projects, private participation, and contracts related to port activity, especially those entered into by existing public port companies. The law also incorporates provisions aimed at ensuring the continuity of current operations at those companies, including those initiated under contracts and authorizations granted pursuant to the scattered regulatory framework in effect prior to its approval.
To date, the General Law of the National Port System has not yet completed the legislative process, as presidential approval and publication in the Official Gazette remain pending. In addition, its effective implementation will depend on the issuance of the corresponding regulations, the formation of the National Port Authority, and the institutional transition necessary for that authority to assume and exercise its functions. These steps will be decisive in determining how the new legal framework will operate in practice and what impact it will have on contracts entered into by public port companies, particularly regarding their treatment once the law enters into force.
Key points of the law
- The creation of the National Port Authority as the central authority and governing body of the National Port System.
- The adoption of a comprehensive legal framework to regulate port activities and contracts related to the provision of port services.
- The establishment of new rules for the planning, regulation, oversight, and operation of port infrastructure.
- The incorporation of provisions with implications for current and future port-related contracts.
- The creation of a regime aimed at preserving the continuity of port activity while the new regulatory framework is implemented.
- Approval of the Law’s Regulations must be carried out by the National Port Authority within a maximum term of one (1) year from the date of the first ordinary session held with the required quorum.