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Europe
Terminal's BTP arm has an announced investment of R$
1. 6 billion in Santos
BTP
(Brasil Terminal Portuário), a subsidiary of
Europe Terminal, will invest R$ 1. 6 billion to build
a container and bulk liquids terminal in the Alemoa
region at the Port of Santos. The Italian shipping company
MSC will also be a partner in the venture.
The official announcement was made by the Minister for
Ports, Pedro Brito, and BTP's CEO Henry Robinson. According
to the schedule, the terminal will begin operating in
the first quarter of 2012.
The facility will have capacity to handle 1.1 million
TEUs (unit of measurement equivalent to one 20-foot
container) and 1.2 million tons of bulk liquids, primarily
ethanol.
Europe Terminal is based in Antwerp (Belgium) and has
42 terminals around the world, "many of them operated
with a partner," said Robinson. Each terminal handles
up to 5 million TEUs per year.
Mr. Robinson said that all the investment is being provided
by Europe Terminal, BTP's 100% shareholder. "MSC
is an important partner because it adds volume and a
guarantee for investors," he told Guia Marítimo.
MSC is the world's second-largest shipping company and
its current fleet of 431 vessels has capacity for 1.
4 million TEUs - in addition to a further 57 container
carriers under order, which will ad 680,000 TEUs.
The executive said there would be no restriction on
operations of other shippers. "The terminal is
not exclusively for MSC; it is for public use, and will
charge all customers market prices. "
BTP's terminal will have four berths taking ships with
capacity of up to 5,000 TEUs. The draft will be the
deepest in the port: 17 meters.
"When the port has been dredged to 15 meters, our
berths will likely be the first to be able to make effective
use of the new depth. Others will have to be reinforced
to do so," Robinson estimated.
The facility will be built in an area that was once
the port's landfill - hence its name "Alemoa landfil".
So soil will have to be recovered, which is an innovative
procedure in Brazil - but has been used in Europe for
15 years. Licenses will be granted jointly by IBAMA
and Cetesb.
"We are posing an entirely new technique which
is cleaning soil. The process involves major advantages:
it will eliminate sources of pollutants, effectively
cleans the soil and has material reused for construction,
"explained Robinson. The same procedure is being
used for the area due to host the 2012 London Olympics.
In order to build the mega terminal, BTP has taken over
the lease agreements of four other companies leasing
land in the area. "The agreements were all bid
for and purchased with Port Authority authorization.
This is stipulated in the agreements. The important
thing is that several attempts were made to use this
area, and all failed, "said Robinson.
"This investment is yet more proof of the feasibility
of Brazil's port sector and shows that we are on the
right to revitalize the Brazilian port sector,"
said Minister Pedro Brito.
News Source 3:
Grupo Intermodal - Guia Marítimo
Date: May 10, 2009
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