Port of Santos is going to double its capacity up to 2013

Port of Santos, the biggest of the Latin America, is going to double its size up 2013. It will have alone the containers movement capacity that all other Brazilian ports have together: 8 million TEUS (unit equivalent to a 20-feet container). Today, this number is 3.2 TEUS, says the CEO of Companhia Docas do Estado de São Paulo (Codesp), José Roberto Correia Serra.

According to him, the capacity increase is the result of several steps like expansions, purchase of state-of-the-art equipment and the start of new private projects. Two of them will represent 65% of all Santos’ expansion. The biggest project is Embraport, terminal built at the left shore of Santos Complex by Odebrecht Transport, DP World and Grupo Coimex. The US$1.25 billion joint-venture shall have a capacity for 2 million TEUS and 2 billion liters of ethanol.

At the right shore it is being built a new terminal of Brasil Terminais Portuários (BTP), controlled by Europe Terminal. It shall also move containers and bulk liquids, like Embraport. In the first phase, it will be 1.1 million TEUS and 1.4 million tons of liquids. The total investment is US$985 million, especially by means of environmental solutions – the terminal is being built in an area used over 50 years as a landfill for Port of Santos’ waste.

Both Embraport and BTP shall have their operation anticipated to October of the next year, states Serra. During this first year, both projects will add about 700 thousand TEUS to the port’s capacity. The remaining shall be done in 2013. Codesp’s CEO reminds that other port operators, like Santos Brasil, Libra and Tecondi, had made huge investments, which will result in the expansion’s increase. As an example, the purchase of equipment raises the quantity of movement that the companies can do per hour.

There are still investments to be made in the current infrastructure in order to expand the capacity of bulk movement (liquids and solids). Copape, located at Ilha do Barnabé, started the construction works of two piers costing US$43.78. Besides, Codesp will invest US$109 million for reinforcing 1 kilometer (km) of docks on the stretches controlled by Copersucar and Cosan. This work will enable sugar vessels to operate and to depart the terminals at their full capacity, says Serra.

Neck. According to him, with these investments, it is important now to focus on the port’s operation and the land access, which do not hold even the current volume. Today, it is not possible to take advantage of this capacity increase. One of the priorities is to expand the railroad participation in Santos – by expanding the rack system and the Rail Ring (Ferroanel). The entrepreneur says that only 1% of the container movement and 10% of bulk transportation is made via rail. The goal is to elevate the average participation to 25%.

Currently, the port receives about 14 thousand trucks a day by both margins. About 85% of these vehicles arrive between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM. There is a lack of schedule intelligence system for the port freight. The truck leaves its destination and it is assumed that it can arrive at Santos any time. This needs to be changed. If does not, the investment in Santos perimeters (right and left shores) and in the underground passageway at Valongo will be useless, says Serra.

In addition, Santos shall start implementing the maritime traffic system of control since the vessel’s arrival and docking up to its departure from Santos. This program will enable the two-way traffic in the port’s access channel. Yet, it will be possible to monitor piracy, weather, waves, winds etc. This shall provide the reduction of time for embarkations arriving and departing, and saving costs, concludes Serra.

The implementation of the Port without Paper (Porto sem Papel) made by the Secretariat of Ports will also help to accelerate the operations in Santos. It is a system that shall integrate six public agencies – Federal Police, Federal Revenue Service, National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa – Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária), Port Authority, International Agricultural Surveillance (Vigilância Agropecuária Internacional) and the Brazilian Navy – to avoid duplication of information and forms.