Port of Itaqui receives 1st cargo shipment of railroad tracks

The Port of Itaqui received the first shipment load of the tracks that will be used in the construction of the railroad between the cities of Mara Rosa and Água Boa, called FICO, the Centre-North Integration Railway (free translation). Merged with the North-South railway, this 383 km-long rail stretch connects the Port of Itaqui to the main grain-producing states Goiás and Mato Grosso.

In 2022, exports of grains (soybeans, corn, and meals) totaled 16.2 million tonnes, while imports of fertilizers totaled 2.5 million tonnes. Together, the two activities represent 63% of the cargo throughput of the Port of Itaqui.

“We expected that this railroad, when fully operational, will promote an increase of approximately 7 million tonnes in the volume of grains moved through the Port of Itaqui per year,” says Jailson Luz, the Director of Operations of state port authority EMAP.

The railroad expansion strengthens the grain logistics chain. In addition, it promotes an increase in the export volume of solid bulk through the public port of Maranhao, generating more development opportunities for Itaqui’s entire area of influence, which includes Matopiba (states of Maranhao, Tocantins, Piaui, and Bahia), as well as Goiás and Mato Grosso.

The first stretch to be built, from Mara Rosa to Água Boa, will encourage the reduction of road use in this area, which will make the production chain of grains that leave the Port of Itaqui for the foreign market more environmentally friendly.

The construction of FICO by Vale is a counterpart for the early concession of the Railway that will connect Vitória, the capital of Espirito Santo, to the state of Minas Gerais. When completed, the railroad will extend to Lucas do Rio Verde, one of Brazil’s main grain production centers.

Source: Portal Portuario

To read the full original article, please access: https://portalportuario.cl/porto-do-itaqui-recebe-primeira-carga-de-trilhos-de-nova-ferrovia/

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