Two new ports for Brazil

Porto Sudeste will be sited on a 52.1 hectare (128.7- acre) site and capable of handling up to 25m tonnes of iron ore annually. It will be linked by rail to mines in the adjoining state of Minas Gerais and by highway with the metropolitan regions of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Construction is scheduled to begin September 2009 and be completed during the first half of 2011. Financial support for the US$750m project will come from the Brazilian development bank, BNDES (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social).

The second project, also an undertaking of LLX Logística, is a US$900m terminal complex to be known as Porto do Açu. It will be located in the city of São João da Barra in northern Rio de Janeiro state, not far from the offshore Campos, Santos and Espírito Santo basin petroleum fiields. The terminal will occupy an area of 7,800 hectares (19,300 acres) and have water depth of 20 m (65.6 feet), enough to accomodate 220,000 dwt bulk carriers and 11,000 teu ultra-post-Panamax container ships.

The Açu complex will consist of an iron ore export pier, coal dock, container and general cargo pier, a bulk liquid terminal, and support facilities for off shore activities – a total of 10 berths. Planned terminal throughput capacities are 63.2m tonnes of iron ore, 15.3m tonnes of coal, 330,000 teu and 4m cu m of liquid cargo annually. Space has also been set aside for petro-chemical, steel, refining and other industrial ventures. The schedule calls for operations to begin during the second half of 2011.