The Itaqui port complex, in the capital of Maranhão, has gained a new fuel distribution base. At the end of May, Raízen started operations at the São Luís railway terminal, the largest private base ever built and operated by the company and which should become the primary point of import of oil products and ethanol exports, linking private refiners in Brazil and abroad.

With an investment of R $ 200 million, the new terminal has the capacity to handle 1.5 billion liters of fuel per year and can store up to 80 million liters of gasoline A, Diesel S 10 and S500.

Built on 140,000 m² of land in the retro area of the Port of Itaqui, in the industrial hub of São Luís, the terminal will multiply the supply of fuels in the area of influence of the port, positively affecting the States of Maranhão, Piauí, Pará, Tocantins and Mato Grosso , in addition to functioning as a cargo HUB for other ports in the states of the North and Northeast regions. The strategic investment in infrastructure will help to reduce costs in the agricultural production and transportation chain in the region, in addition to bringing benefits to Maranhão - such as the almost 1,000 direct jobs and 500 indirect jobs generated during the construction period, 50 direct jobs related to the operation and preferential contracting of materials and services from the region.

The new São Luís terminal is part of a network of new railway bases, recently built by Raízen in Porto Nacional (TO) and Marabá (PA), in addition to the existing railway bases in Teresina and Açailândia. This group of terminals and distribution bases were designed to be the company's most efficient assets in the long term, operating large railway trains connected by the railway network of Ferrovia Centro-Atlântica S.A in the region. There will also be an increase in the area of influence after the expansion of the North-South Railway.

"The inauguration of the Itaqui terminal is an important logistical and economic landmark for the country, especially in the North and Northeast regions. In such an uncertain moment that we are currently facing, the new operation will generate jobs and move the sector positively, helping to maintain essential sectors of the economy, reducing costs and optimizing processes ", celebrates Antonio Simões, vice president of Logistics, Distribution and Energy at Raízen.