Hidrovias do Brasil to expand its participation in Brazil’s northern arc region

Hidrovias do Brasil wants to expand its logistics operation to the northern arc of Brazil. To this end, the company, which already has a strong presence in the transportation of grains through the region, plans to expand its current infrastructure, create new routes, and even participate in BR-163 and Ferrogrão bids, with minority participation, to guarantee its competitiveness.

“The year 2020 marked the consolidation of the northern arc as an outflow for production from Mato Grosso. The region’s ports now account for more than 50% of exports, surpassing the Santos route. This is a very big structural change, which will only advance because the growth of agricultural production will be concentrated in the north of the state ”, says the company’s president, Fabio Schettino.

The route is the main business of Hidrovias do Brasil. The journey begins by truck, leaving Mato Grosso to a transshipment station in Miritituba (PA). From there, the cargo goes by waterway to the Private Use Terminal (TUP) in Vila do Conde (PA).

Last year, movement on the route skyrocketed. The volume transported by the company rose 46% in comparison with 2019. The increase was stimulated by the drop in road freight on the BR-163, after the asphalting of the road at the end of 2019. The improvement in road conditions made the northern arc more competitive.

Thus, Hidrovias do Brasil intends to anticipate investments in the existing structure since the route’s capacity is almost all contracted. “It is a faster and cheaper expansion. We are still defining the project, but it would be possible to double the capacity with 50% of the original investment”, he says.

The company is also studying creating new routes in the region, possibly passing through cities such as Porto Velho (RO), Humaitá (AM), Itacoatiara (AM), Juriti (PA), and Santarém (PA).

The company is also monitoring the situation on the BR-163 highway. The federal government plans to grant the stretch of the road between Rondonópolis (MT) and Miritituba (PA) for a period of ten years. The auction is scheduled for the third quarter of 2021. The company, which even donated the project’s feasibility studies does not want to operate the highway but is negotiating to enter a consortium with a minority stake.

Hidrovias do Brasil is also monitoring the Ferrogrão project, a railroad that the federal government plans to build from scratch, between Sinop (MT) and Miritituba (PA), on a path parallel to the BR-163. The enterprise faces resistance from several groups but has been treated as a priority by the Ministry of Infrastructure. The auction is expected to be held later this year.

Source: Valor Econômico

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