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Gala ceremony held at Brazil’s busiest port to celebrate opening of 1.2 million TEU capacity facility
Brasil Terminal Portuário (BTP) was officially opened last week with a gala ceremony held at the Port of Santos’ new 1.2 million TEU capacity container terminal.
The celebrations were attended by as many as 500 guests and media representatives including the Brazilian minister of seaports Antonio Henrique Silveira.
The development of BTP began back in 2007, with APM Terminals acquiring a 50 percent share form Terminal Investment Limited (TIL) in 2010. APM Terminals will operate the terminal alongside TIL for a 20-year period, whilst investing over US$20 billion into the project during this time span.
“Working together with our partner TIL, whose vision and dedication have built the port and made it an incredible environmental success, APM Terminals will work hard to deliver high productivity to shipping lines, importers, exporters and truckers,” stated APM Terminals CEO, Kim Fejfer, who also participated in the terminal inauguration event.
Although fully equipped and operational since March, commercial operations at BTP could not commence until the terminal was issued International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Certification in April, and granted an operating license from the Brazilian Institute of Environmental and Renewable Natural resources in July.
The first commercial vessel call took place in August, and with scheduled dredging having been completed in October, BTP has become fully operational with 1,108 metres of quay and a 15 metre depth, capable of serving three 9,200 TEU capacity vessel calls simultaneously.
The Port of Santos, the busiest container port in South America, handled 3 million TEU during the 2012 calendar year.
