Southern Port in Arroio do Sal foresees operation for 2024

Entrepreneurs involved with the Porto Meridional project to be built in Rondinha, in Arroio do Sal, estimate that it will be possible to start operating the structure by the end of 2024.

João Acácio Gomes de Oliveira Neto, President of DTA Engenharia (the company hired to develop basic and executive engineering studies and obtain funding to complete the work), said that the environmental licensing process at IBAMA should practically take the whole next year, and the installation of the complex should take around 20 months.

Oliveira Neto adds that the project already has the authorizations to begin from the Navy and the National Secretariat of Ports and Waterway Transport.

He considers that the port in Arroio do Sal is an alternative to capturing cargo that does not go to Rio Grande but “flees” from the state before being transported through Santa Catarina, Paraná, and even São Paulo.

The executive calculates that 10 – 12 million tons of cargo a year from Rio Grande do Sul are sent to other regions.

The port on the north coast will have the capacity to handle around 50 million tons annually, operating containers, liquid, and solid bulk, and will even have a passenger terminal.

The draft will be 17 meters deep, allowing for the mooring of larger ships (by way of comparison, the draft at the port of Rio Grande at its deepest point is 15 meters).

The investment to take the Meridional port project off the ground is currently estimated at around R$ 6 billion. The president of DTA Engenharia comments that the resources can be obtained through a group of investors, investment fund, or financing from a development bank, among other mechanisms. “The important thing is that the port is a viable business”, he emphasizes. One of the investors involved in the initiative, businessman Antônio Roso, points out that a new port on the north coast of Rio Grande do Sul – between the terminals located in Rio Grande and Santa Catarina – will help to reduce logistical costs.

He reiterates that the effort now is to seek the necessary licenses for the actions to go ahead. Roso points out that in order to make the construction of the project financially viable, it is possible to raise funds from BNDES. There are also offers from new investors wanting to participate in the project.

Source: Jornal do Comércio

To read the full original article, access the link: https://www.jornaldocomercio.com/_conteudo/economia/2021/11/821535-porto-meridional-em-arroio-do-sal-preve-operacao-para-2024.html

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