CMA CGM considers Brazilian terminal plan

The company, the world’s third largest container ship operator, is said to be negotiating terminal concessions in the states of São Paulo, Parana and Pará. The news comes just weeks after Maersk Line’s sister company APM Terminals indicated it was evaluating sites in the vicinity of Santos and São Sebastião for development as a transhipment centre.

Nelson Carlini, managing director of the CMA CGM agency in São Paulo, said that one terminal would be located in Santos, serving a region that generates much of the nation’s export cargo. He declined to identify the other sites the company had in mind.

The company’s investment decision is said to be dependent on stance taken by Brazil’s National Water Transportation Agency, Antaq, on government regulations that restrict the construction of private terminals to those that can justify their development based on the volume of proprietary cargo they intend to handle.