Brazil Special Ports (SEP) Minister Cesar Borges has announced that US$1 billion will be spent on the country’s port sector prior to the end of 2015.
Borges said that over recent years, port investment by the Brazilian government had been strong, and more than $770 million had already been spent on various projects, including dredging.
Borges was also reported by the Journal of Commerce as saying that Brazil would increase its port throughput every year up until 2030 by an average of 5.7%, due to the rate that the Brazilian economy is currently growing.
Container movement increased by 12.2% in 2013 and Borges claimed that this was due to a 30% reduction in handling costs to net private use terminals (TUPs).
Borges said: “Brazilian container TUPs are operating on the same productivity levels of the most developed ports in the world, such as Singapore and Antwerp. The supply terminals for container movement in Brazil today are much higher than the demand. This was only possible with the reduction of more than 30% in the cost of handling, and this is due to private sector investment, which is good because it is not burdening the government.”
Cesar Borges concluded: “The federal government has invested heavily in the port sector. We have invested 745 million reais [$287 million] in dredging works completed, 1.14 billion reais [$440 million] on overall port infrastructure and 1.7 billion reais [$656 million] in projects underway. In total, this provides for 2.8 billion reais [$1,081 billion] for projects that will begin in 2015. Our government has been looking to improve the port sector and now the investment is coming.”
Brazil's Port of Santos. (Source: PTI)