Phase III of Porto Itapoá expansion completed

This final stage of the project, costing around US$157m, has seen an additional 200,000m² of yard constructed plus a new 8,000m² warehouse.

With this expansion, Porto Itapoá now operates one of the largest container yards in Brazil, with 455,000m² of space, enabling it to handle up to 2 million teu per year.

Earlier phases of the project have seen the acquisition of large equipment – it is the first in South America to operate remotely controlled hybrid rubber-tyred gantry cranes – and the expansion of berths.

Porto Itapoá has already invested US$480m in the expansion and plans to invest a further US$380m in the coming years. “In recent years, we have been one of the companies that has invested the most in our region,” said the terminal’s president, Cássio Schreiner.

“We are already planning works to add more yard, more piers, more equipment, and even more people.”

The port has been working with federal and state government along with the Port Authority of São Francisco do Sul to dredge the access to channel to Babitonga Bay, which handles over 60% of the state of Santa Catarina’s port cargo.

Other improvements include road infrastructure upgrades as well as new terminal equipment in the form of a 50m new ship-to-shore crane and ten remotely controlled hybrid RTGs.

These improvements are estimated to allow the number of port and retroport companies operating in the region to triple, increasing annual income generation from US$58m to US$350m, and creating 45,000 new job opportunities.