Merchant Marine Fund advances toward financing strategic railway and port projects

The Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPor) held a meeting this Tuesday (2) to move forward with a proposal to use the Merchant Marine Fund (FMM) to finance railway projects linked to port operations. Minister Silvio Costa Filho emphasized that integrating railways and ports is essential to increasing the country’s logistical competitiveness.

MPor presented the foundations of a program developed in partnership with the Ministry of Transport and the productive sector, which leverages the FMM’s potential—currently focused on navigation and port infrastructure—to finance railway segments that directly serve ports or strategic corridors. With around BRL 24 billion in cash, the fund has the capacity to support access works and expansions that reduce costs and increase operational efficiency.

Minister Silvio Costa Filho stated that the government is working to present, as early as January, a national credit program to finance strategic railways for port operations. “We are structuring a major program to strengthen railway financing with support from the Merchant Marine Fund. When the railway reaches the port, we increase capacity, reduce logistical costs, and strengthen the entire port sector in the country,” he said.

The National Secretary of Railways, Leonardo Ribeiro, reinforced that the connection between the two modes is decisive for the success of the National Railway Policy and the new portfolio of auctions. He noted that the railway modal is responsible for a large share of Brazilian exports, including 95% of iron ore and 40% of agricultural bulk destined for ports.

The meeting also discussed the creation of an integrated map correlating existing railways, ongoing projects, and planned expansions with ports, contributing to the technical prioritization of investments. Another topic was increasing private banks’ participation in financing to expand credit availability and accelerate project execution.

MPor reiterated that the FMM already includes operations related to port and waterway infrastructure and that any change to include railway projects depends on technical assessment and a decision by the Merchant Marine Fund’s Board of Directors, as well as high-level approval from the Federal Government.

The agenda included participation from the National Association of Railway Transporters (ANTF), MoveInfra, the Brazilian Association of Port Terminals (ABTP), and the Association of Private Port Terminals (ATP), which contributed analyses and sector perspectives.

Source: Ministry of Ports and Airports

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