Port of Natal improvements set for bidding in September

The Ministry of Ports and Airports has announced the first bidding process to improve the Port of Natal, which is expected to take place in September. Initial actions include preparing a Terms of Reference for dock defenses, with services anticipated to begin six months after the service order is signed.

Additionally, the preliminary project for dredging the Potengi River has been submitted to the local Institute for Development and the Environment (Idema) for validation. Once this evaluation is complete, the schedule for the following stages will be established. The dredging aims to restore the original depth of the access channel to 12.5 meters without increasing the draft.

In a recent meeting with the state government, the Ministry of Ports and Airports committed R$60 million for the dredging work and R$10 million for the dock defenses. The installation of defenses will ensure the safe docking of vessels.

Dredging the Potengi River is crucial to increasing the Port of Natal’s capacity, enabling it to accommodate larger vessels, and improving traffic at the terminal.

For the Newton Navarro Bridge, the Ministry expects to publish the bidding notice by the end of August and charter the services in October. The project’s execution period is eight months from the signing of the service order.

On July 22, a vessel collided with one of the pillars of the Newton Navarro Bridge. The ship had departed from the port of Pecém, Ceará, and was bound for Rio Grande, 316 kilometers from Porto Alegre, transporting blades for wind energy towers.

Due to bad weather, the captain decided to enter the port of Natal, but the vessel collided with one of the bridge pillars as it approached the port. The State Secretariat for Infrastructure (SIN) reported only minor damage to the concrete structure’s metal plates.

According to the Ministry of Ports, installing defenses on the central pillars of the bridge will ensure the safe passage of larger vessels at any time. With an initial budget of R$45 million, the project is currently in the budget allocation phase with the involved Ministries.

Source: Novo Notícias

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