Santos Brasil starts second stage of expansion in SP

Santos Brasil has started the second stage of the expansion of its container terminal at the Port of Santos, which should require around R$ 500 million by 2023. The company is also preparing to take over the liquid bulk terminals in Itaqui (MA) and analyze other federal auctions.

The expansion in Santos is the result of the concession’s early renewal process, signed in 2016. In the first phase, which has just been completed, the berth was expanded. The capacity increased from 2 million TEU to 2.4 million TEU per year. The pier was also deepened to 16 meters, which will allow the entry of the largest ships in the market, the New Panamax.

In this new stage of expansion, the capacity of the berths will increase further, to 2.6 million TEU per year, through the acquisition of automated cranes. In addition, a new yard will be built at the terminal to cope with the new demand. Another relevant intervention will be the expansion of the railway branches for transporting containers, to eliminate crossings with trucks which today interfere in the operation.

In the expansion process signed in 2016, a third stage is also planned, with an additional BRL 600 million, which will take the terminal to an annual capacity of 3 million TEs. The last phase should be completed by 2031.

Today, Santos Brasil has the cash to make the investments. The company raised BRL790 million in a follow-on share offering held in September 2020.

The company also plans to start its new operation at the Port of Itaqui in mid-2022. In April of this year, the company won the auction of three liquid bulk terminals in a move to diversify the company, currently focused on containers. “We already had the basic project approved by the regulatory agency and we filed for environmental licenses.

Santos Brasil is also continuing to study new auctions. A terminal for liquid bulk is being analyzed at the port of Paranaguá, and a terminal in Santos is being studied for fertilizers and another for grains.

Recently, the group decided to stay out of the dispute for a large liquid bulk terminal at the Port of Santos, the STS 08, which ended up with no offers. For Sepúlveda, the assessment is that the project “got expensive”, but, depending on the reformulations proposed by the federal government, the company may become interested again.

Another process that Santos Brasil should follow, possibly as an investor, is the privatization of dock companies. The most advanced case is that of CODESA, in Espírito Santo. “We are going to look at the project because it is a major port with a lot of cargo. A dock company is not the same thing as a terminal, but, like a port operation, we can find mechanisms to generate value.”

In the case of the privatization of the Santos Port Authority (SPA), the process is more delayed and much more complex, he says. “It will depend on the government’s political will to increase the speed or not.” In this case, the group follows the discussions as a possible investor – probably in a consortium, since there will be limitations for operators to participate in the dispute – but mainly with a “defensive posture”, that is, to prevent the model from harming existing contracts.

Source: Valor Econômico

To read the full original article, visit the link:

https://valor.globo.com/empresas/noticia/2021/12/10/santos-brasil-inicia-segunda-etapa-de-expansao-em-sp.ghtml

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