‘Insult to Santa Catarina’: Authorities Speak Out Against Federalization of Itajaí Port

The Ministry of Ports and Airports intends to present a federalization proposal for the Port of Itajaí, located on the northern coast of Santa Catarina. However, this idea has sparked opposition from state authorities, including the governor, Jorginho Mello.

The proposal was set to be presented to President Lula on Tuesday (10) but was postponed due to the president’s health condition, as he underwent brain surgery in São Paulo.

“Disrespect to Santa Catarina”

On social media, Governor Jorginho Mello from Santa Catarina posted a video alongside Itajaí’s elected mayor, Robison Coelho, criticizing the potential federalization of the Port of Itajaí. In the video, the governor stated that the federalization would ” disrespect Santa Catarina.”

In addition to the state government, various entities representing Santa Catarina’s productive sector have advocated for the port to remain under municipal management.

In an interview with NDTV, the president of Fiesc (Federation of Industries of the State of Santa Catarina), Mario Cezar Aguiar, stated that he was in talks with Décio Lima, the president of the Workers’ Party in Santa Catarina, about the matter.

“We have taken a stand that represents not only our federation but all business federations in Santa Catarina, opposing the federalization of the Port of Itajaí,” Aguiar said.

Federalization of the Port of Itajaí in Focus

The federal government delegated the Port Authority to the municipality of Itajaí through the Administrative Decentralization Agreement No. 001, signed in June 1995, which remained in effect until December 31, 1997.

In 1997, the federal government and the municipality signed Delegation Agreement No. 08, valid for 25 years, starting January 1, 1998. In 2022, an Addendum extended the Delegation Agreement for two additional years. The current agreement will expire on December 31, 2024.

The Port of Itajaí remained without regular container operations since the end of 2022 when its contract with APM Terminals expired. The chart below shows the slow but steady return of container shipments that took place this year. The data is featured on Datamar’s DataLiner intelligence service.

Itajaí Port Container Exports | Jan 2021-Oct 2024 vs Jan 2021-Oct 2024 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Minister Silvio Costa Filho has indicated that the port could be transferred to CODESP, the Port Authority of São Paulo. This federal company manages the Port of Santos, the Port of Itajaí’s largest competitor.

NDTV’s team attempted to contact Minister Costa Filho but has not received a response since this article was published. The invitation remains open.

Source: ND Mais

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