Heavy rains reinforce need for new dredging concession at Port of Itajaí

As the Port of Itajaí complex in Santa Catarina awaits the tender for the concession of its waterway access, the latest channel dredging campaign has been completed after 20 days, removing more than 2 million cubic meters of sediment.

According to Port of Itajaí Superintendent Artur Antunes Pereira, the volume is well above the 600,000 to 800,000 cubic meters typically removed during a regular dredging campaign.

The concession for the complex’s waterway access, which would transfer management of the channel and dredging services to the private sector, is still awaiting a decision from Brazil’s National Waterway Transportation Agency (ANTAQ). The project was expected to be reviewed in August, with the tender notice to follow. According to the Port of Itajaí, however, there have been no further updates on the process.

The project calls for a 25-year contract and estimated investment of around R$350 million. It goes beyond dredging and covers the management and operation of the waterway access, including channel maintenance and deepening, as well as improvements to infrastructure used by vessels entering and leaving the port complex.

See below a historical overview of container throughput in international trade at the Port of Itajaí from September 2024 to July 2026. The data comes from DataLiner and excludes cabotage and other domestic movements:

International Container Throughput at the Port of Itajaí | Sep 2024 – Jul 2026 | TEU

Source: DataLiner (Click here to request a demo)

Rains Increased Sediment Buildup

Pereira said the latest dredging campaign was brought forward because of the rapid and unusually heavy buildup of sediment in the channel. The superintendent linked the increase to rainfall in the region and the gradual release of water and accumulated material from dams in the Itajaí-Açu River basin. “The effects of El Niño in the region have increased rainfall volumes and, consequently, the amount of sediment in the channel,” he said.

The effects do not end when the rain stops. Pereira explained that the dams continue to gradually release accumulated water and sediment, which then make their way into the access channel.

According to the superintendent, the dredging model used over the past eight years has been sufficient under normal conditions. The port administration, however, is considering either an amendment to the existing contract or an additional emergency contract if sediment buildup remains exceptionally high. “The issue is that we are currently facing an unusual situation, and if these unusual conditions continue, this contract may not be enough.”

Santa Catarina’s Agricultural Research and Rural Extension Company (Epagri) confirmed in a climate bulletin released in July that El Niño had increased the frequency of rain systems in the state and projected rainfall above the historical average between August and October.

The Federation of Industries of Santa Catarina (Fiesc) argues that the concession of the access channel to the Port of Itajaí complex should be structured separately from the operation of landside terminals. In a letter sent in August to the Ministry of Ports and Airports, ANTAQ and the Bahia State Dock Company (Codeba), the federation argued that dredging, maintenance and channel-deepening works should have their own rules, responsibilities and funding.

“Separating the access channel concession from terminal operations ensures that minimum navigation parameters and major infrastructure projects, such as deepening the channel and expanding the turning basin, do not become dependent on potential contractual or operational bottlenecks at the terminal,” said Maurício Battistella, president of Fiesc’s Transportation and Logistics Council.

The port administration takes a similar view. Pereira said the access channel and landside terminals are assets with different functions and should therefore have separate contracts. “We understand that these are two very different assets and that, if they are concessioned, they should be handled separately,” he said. He added that the economic model for the channel concession needs to be clearly defined before the tender notice is published.

ANTAQ was contacted but had not responded by the time the report was published.

Source: Gazeta do Povo

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