The Special Secretariat for Ports of the brazilian government announced Monday (Dec. 9) that it has awarded concessions for five new private use terminals located in the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Santa Catarina.

These are the first terminals under concession as part of the new port regulations of June 2013. They will handle general cargo, dry bulk cargo, as well as passengers.

The secretariat reported that the National Agency for Waterway Transportation (Brazil’s port authority) is considering permits for private terminals in other states, including one in Espírito Santo, three in Pará, three in Amazonas (all of them in the Port of Manaus), two in Bahia, and one in Rondônia. In all, the 15 projects are expected to generate investments of $2.755 billion.

The Secretariat expects that concessions will now be awarded in an ongoing pace, subject only to area availability and the demand from parties interested in obtaining permits.

Based on the 59 ventures currently awaiting permits, the federal government anticipates potential investments from the private sector at $4.908 billion. The president of the Union of Shipbuilding (Sinaval), Ariovaldo Rock, said that the shipyards already have nearly 400 firm works and that its goal is the pursuit of competitiveness , which will be confirmed with the realization of exports.