Brazil to improve transportation matrix via waterway expansion

The Brazilian government plans to boost the amount of cargo transported via waterways to reduce the country’s strong dependence on highways.

Waterway transportation regulator Antaq has been charged with overseeing the plan to create a more balanced transport matrix.

“It’s necessary to expand our waterway infrastructure. I’m happy that the pursuit of this expansion is also a priority item for [ports and airports] minister Márcio França. We have a series of studies with the ministry so we can unlock this agenda that’s so important for the country,” said Eduardo Nery, Antaq’s director general, in a statement.

The new focus will help create a better balance in the country’s transport matrix and facilitate transportation of agricultural products, he added.

Today, about two-thirds of Brazil’s cargo is transported via highways.

São Paulo state will also draw up a long-term plan to create better balance in its transportation matrix.

“We need to optimize our matrix, which we know is unbalanced. This is a plan of the state that will be built through dialogue,” said the state’s secretary for the environment, infrastructure and logistics, Natália Resende, in a separate statement.

In São Paulo state, 79.6% of cargo is transported via roads compared to 12.6% via railways – and only 0.31% on waterways.

“The investment in improving navigability of the Tietê-Paraná waterway is an example of a structuring action in progress,” Resende said.

In partnership with the federal government, the state unveiled a plan in March to invest 300mn reais (US$61mn) in the waterway project. Investments will be made in dredging works to improve navigability during dry seasons.

Agricultural production is transported via Tietê-Paraná to Santos port, which is the country’s busiest. With 30 terminals, the 2,400km waterway connects the states of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraná, Minas Gerais, Goiás and São Paulo.

Source: Bnamericas

To read the original reporting, check: https://www.bnamericas.com/en/news/brazil-to-improve-transportation-matrix-via-waterway-expansion

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