Itajai follow-up

Mr Bellini took control of the Itajai Port Authority on January 1 and immediately sacked officials in the communications and other departments to bring in “his own people”. This is normal in Brazil but critics told Fairplay he could have waited a few more months before exercising the axe.

Then, talking to the Catarina Diary and other media, Jandir Bellini, also said that the way to overcome the devastation caused by the terrible flooding – when the River Itajai-Acu was flowing at 22 km per hour and destroyed two of the port’s three berths – was to “go the way of Santos” and privatise all port facilities.

Itajai is the only port in Brazil to come under the jurisdiction of the local prefecture rather than the local state or the federal government in Brasilia. It already has one successful box terminal, Teconvi, which is operated by APM Terminals, and was damanged by the flooding.

“Privatisaion is the only way to go,” declared Mr Bellini, as he promised new tenders for more port terminals in the “very near future” so as to regenerate the port “after its devastating losses” from the floods.