JBS Plans to Invest R$ 250 Million in the Port of Itajaí by Mid-2025

JBS Terminals plans to invest R$ 250 million in the Port of Itajaí by mid-2025. The goal is to expand the terminal’s operations to over 100% of its pre-shutdown capacity by modernizing equipment and increasing storage space. According to Daniel Belisário, the company’s commercial director, JBS Terminals has already invested R$ 130 million in improvements and equipment purchases, including two new mobile cranes for loading and unloading ships, which are expected to enhance operations starting in February. With the arrival of the latest equipment, the Itajaí terminal is anticipated to recover the operational volumes reached before the shutdown, which were around 30,000 TEUs per month.

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)

The remaining R$120 million is being allocated to a new 25,000-square-meter area to expand storage, bringing the total port area to approximately 200,000 square meters (including public places). “Within a 12-month horizon, we will consolidate an investment of R$250 million under a transitional four-year contract ending in 2027. We are preparing for a multi-billion investment in Phase 2, which involves a 35-year concession,” Belisário explained. With the consolidation of the new investment area, JBS expects to handle 35,000 containers per month.

Belisário stated that JBS Terminals foresees significant synergy with the Braskarne Terminal and is exploring operations for general cargo vessels in that area and containers in public and concessioned areas. “The JBS Group’s refrigerated cargo is estimated to account for 5% of the business. Given this terminal’s size, we are open to other types of cargo across all sectors. That’s why we have a strategy to maintain a diversified portfolio of shipping lines,” he highlighted. Among the new developments is a weekly shipping line to the United States operated by MSC, set to launch at the end of December, along with two other lines to be announced soon—one to Asia, expected to move 2,000 containers, and another to Europe.

The commercial director also emphasized that resuming terminal operations will help mitigate the challenges Santa Catarina’s foreign trade sector has been facing. “There’s a light at the end of the tunnel. The port’s reopening won’t solve all problems, but we see potential to ease some of the challenges Santa Catarina’s foreign trade and industries face,” he stated. Currently, the port can accommodate delayed ships and those outside berthing schedules, providing an alternative for cargo shipments since the terminal’s customs clearance has been completed.
Belisário also celebrated the arrival of the largest ship ever docked in Itajaí, the MSC Jasmine, measuring 346 meters long. To ensure that ships of this size continue to include Itajaí on their routes, he stressed the importance of the port authority guaranteeing maintenance dredging of the access channel. “Regardless of who is in charge of this task, it must be fulfilled. Under the current management model, the port authority is not meeting this need. We require a model that provides competitiveness to the port complex,” he asserted. According to him, JBS Terminals aims to continue investing and establish a long-term vision for Itajaí.

Source: Amanhã

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