Port of Santos joins committee to discuss the Madeira River waterway

The Santos Port Authority, or APS, has joined a committee created to assess environmental impacts and discuss governance of the Madeira River waterway. The concession for the waterway is under review by Brazil’s waterway transport regulator, Antaq, and could establish the river route as one of the country’s main logistics corridors, expanding cargo transport capacity to international markets such as the United States and Europe.

APS Environmental Superintendent Sidnei Aranha has been appointed as the company’s representative on the new committee, known as Com-Madeira. He took part in a meeting at Porto Velho City Hall on Monday (March 23) that marked the committee’s creation. He also attended a meeting with the productive sector at the headquarters of the Regional Council of Engineering and Agronomy of Rondonia, or Crea-RO, and joined a visit to riverine communities.

Aranha said the expertise of the Port of Santos, as Latin America’s main port, can contribute to the Madeira River project.

“The Port of Santos beats through its people. We move what Brazil produces to care for those who build it. It is in that spirit that we celebrate our participation in the governance of the Madeira River, a force of nature that holds the title of the world’s 17th-largest river. It is an honor to serve our people and preserve this vastness. Long live the Madeira River,” Aranha said.

Debates over the concession of the Madeira River waterway have intensified in recent years as production of commodities such as soybeans and corn has expanded in the region, increasing pressure to overcome transport bottlenecks on the way to consumer markets.

Fighting “fake news”

According to APS’s environmental superintendent, one of the committee’s goals is to clarify for the public and the sectors involved the importance of the waterway and to combat “fake news.”

“The first myth that needs to be addressed here is who will pay for the implementation of this waterway. It will be those transporting the cargo, mainly the soy, corn, fuel and fertilizer sectors,” Aranha said.

He said false information has circulated about a supposed “privatization of the river.” According to Aranha, people who use the river for transportation, to get to school, for fishing or for other day-to-day activities will not pay any toll. “That is clear in the project currently under review at Antaq,” he said. There will therefore be no privatization, but rather a concession that will provide the safety structures needed for the waterway to operate.

“We remain steadfast in defending initiatives that generate development, integration and opportunities for all. The Madeira River waterway is a decisive step in that direction.”

The meeting was attended by representatives of Fecomercio-RO, DNIT, Santos Port executives, ACEP, the Porto Velho Development Agency, Porto Velho’s Municipal Agriculture Secretariat and the city’s Municipal Tourism Secretariat.

Source: APS

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