Triunfo to invest R$ 1.6 billion in complex at Santos

Triunfo Participações e Investimentos wants to build a private multiuse complex consisting of three terminals, in the area they own in the port of Santos, at the Santa Rita site. With a total investment of R$ 1.6 billion (US$ 1.025 billion), this development shall consist of one terminal for solid grain (with a static capacity for 2 million tonnes annually), one for liquids (4.5 million tonnes per year) and one exclusive for the containers operated in domestic shipping (coasting trade).

This last item seeks to impart greater synergy on the operations of the recently established sea transport company of the group, Maestra Navegação e Logística. The prospects are that, when the company has its four ships in operation, which should be the case by the second half of the year, Maestra may handle between 60 and 70 thousand TEUs (20-foot containers) per year. The terminal dedicated to containerised cargo shall have the capacity to handle up to 140 thousand TEUs.

The original layout planned for a terminal for containers with a capacity of up to 870 thousand units, without any restriction on the type of shipping. However, as Valor found out, the company has decided against this format.

The decision to have an exclusive structure for coasting trade is also a way for Triunfo not to come up against container terminals of public use which are already vying for the long-distance market in the port of Santos, while also serving a less valued niche at peak times – the domestic container transport does not pay as well as foreign trade, especially in the case of imports, which stay longer in the terminal and also pays for storage.

At the beginning of the month, the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis – Ibama) granted a prior licence – the first of the three that are necessary – for Triunfo to proceed with the multiuse project known as Brites (Brasil Intermodal Terminal Santos). However, this authorization does not consider the total use of the company site for port purposes. Only 35% of the area, or about 700 thousand square metres, shall be set aside for the operation. The rest of the area shall either remain untouched for environmental preservation or shall receive investments for recovery. At this location, archaeological remains of a former pottery were found, for example.

The forecast is now that the Brites project shall be registered at the National Agency for Water Transport (Agência Nacional de Transportes Aquaviários – Antaq) within 60 days. As this is a private enterprise (not requiring a prior tender), Triunfo shall have to prove that they have their own cargo in a larger quantity than that of third parties, so that they may be exempt from the public tender process, as established by the Brazilian regulatory framework.

Valor has also found out that, from now on, the company shall seek shipping partners in the types of cargo to be handled, so that they may fall within the national legislation and hence legitimate the business. To erect the multiuse complex, which shall be one of the largest in the port of Santos, the company shall use financing through the BNDES.

The design of the Brites also allows a moorable dock of 1,150 metres in length. The idea is that three mooring berths shall be constructed, two for large solid grain ships and one for liquids. The operation of the container handling device shall be made in one of the berths dedicated to transport of solid grain.

The idea is that there shall be the construction of three mooring berths, two for ships transporting solid grain and one for liquids.

Priority of access to the terminal shall rest with rail transport, as the branch line of the MRS concessionaire cuts through the property – and also through a network of existing ducts to supply the terminals for liquids on the left-hand bank of the Port. Lorries shall arrive along the Cônego Domenico Rangoni Motorway, formerly the Piaçaguera-Guarujá, along which they shall also travel when the final destination are the premises on the left bank.

The project also plans for dredging near Santa Rita, down to 16 metres. This means that there shall be a total removal of some 10 million cubic metres of sediment, which shall be used on the terminal site. If everything goes as expected by the developer, then the work shall take between 36 and 42 months.

During construction, the expectation is that 1.6 thousand jobs shall be created. Once in operation, this development shall create 1.2 thousand direct jobs.

Nowadays, holding company Triunfo controls road concessions, a private port (the Portonave complex in Santa Catarina) and a hydroelectric power unit. In 2010, the group posted a profit of R$ 33.9 million (USD 21.72 million), which is a 25% reduction when compared to the R$ 45.2 million (USD 28.96 million) of the previous business year.

In the last quarter of last year, the company had a net profit of R$ 17.1 million (USD 10.95 million), which is 40.4% higher than in the same period of 2009. The main aspects that have led to this result include the growth in income of the port segment.