Santos operator bid

Brasil Terminal Portuário (BTP), a 50/50 joint venture between Terminal Investment Limited and APM Terminals, requested for the early renewal of its terminal leasing contract in the Port of Santos, with an investment commitment of about R$1.3bn (reais) planned for the next 20 years of extension. BTP’s lease agreement was signed in 2007 for a period of 20 years, extendable for another 20 years.

Ricardo Arten, CEO of BTP, said: “There was a public-private partnership throughout this process in which we built the plan. And the dynamics of dialogue with the Government was fundamental, so that we elaborate an investment plan that allows the development of the port infrastructure while, at the same time, ensures the return to our shareholders. We understand that the bases of this document are very solid, and our expectation is that the Ministry of Infrastructure, through the Secretariat of Ports, will approve the request for renewal and proceed with the signature of the contractual amendment.”

Continued investment

At the Ministry of Infrastructure, Mr Arten, officially handed over the document to the National Secretary of Ports, Diogo Piloni.

BTP plans to continue investing to increase its operating capacity within the current limits of the terminal. For this, the future investments consist of the purchase of four additional STS cranes, 27 RTGs and 46 terminal trucks. With the new acquisitions, the terminal will have a total of 12 STSs, 57 RTGs and 103 terminal trucks.

In addition to the purchase of new and modern equipment, the investment plan also includes the strengthening of the berths to accommodate vessels up to 366m long, expansion of the reefer area, terminal gate automation, the relocation of the administrative building and improvement of other facilities. The operational area is expected to increase from 430,000sqm to 454,000 sqm total.