The Brazilian government announced this Saturday (25 November) that the works for additional dredging of the Port of Rio de Janeiro have been completed. With the expanded access, the port can now increase operating capacity by up to 50%. The project took 14 months from design to delivery, with a total of R$ 237 million in investments.

The works deepened the port's draft from 12.6m to 14.3m, expanding the access channel and allowing for higher movements of cargo. Now, ships can move up to 900 more containers at a time.

For Transport Minister Maurício Quintella, the upgrade will attract more investments and create jobs to the state. The minister also highlighted the government's commitment to the resumption of infrastructure works in the country. "When we took office, no dredging was in progress, but this government committed to meet the demands of the sector."

The Head of the General Secretariat of the Presidency, Moreira Franco, mentioned the country's recent investments in logistics and stressed that this is "the return of the federal government to public investments". He further explained that "without an efficient railway sector to match the port system, we will not be able to guarantee our production and international competitiveness."

The port has major cargo handling potential. Between January and October this year, approximately 4.5 million tons were moved from the Port of Rio, 1% more than the same period of 2016. The Port of Rio de Janeiro is the second largest in cargo handling in the country. Some of the main products shipped include steel products, containers, bulk and products linked to offshore goods.

Contracts renewed

The government also announced contract extensions for two port terminals operating in the state: Nitshore and Nitport. Both are part of the efforts of Project Grow, the government's recent initiative to boost infrastructure development. A total R$ 63 million will be invested to improve port infrastructure in Niterói (RJ) for another 10 years.

New scenario

According to Quintella, the Brazilian government has signed 42 adhesion contracts in the sector, leading to R$ 2 billion in investments for the coming years. According to the data disclosed, the government will invest an additional R$ 1 billion in dredging works for the country's main ports.

The budget allocation funded the completion of the works in the Port of Vitória (ES) and will be invested in works in several other ports. Those include: the Port of Itajaí (works currently pending final approval); the Port of Paranaguá (works underway); the Port of Santos (construction about to begin); the Port of Maceió (currently being mobilised) and the Port of Fortaleza (currently undergoing bidding).

On Saturday, the government also announced the delivery of 820 homes of the Minha Casa, Minha Vida affordable housing programme in Rio de Janeiro.