Terminal handling capacity will double at Antonina Port

The Ponta do Felix Port Terminal (PFPT), located in Antonina Port, Paraná Coast, has begun a new phase of its expansion project, which foresees investments of approximately R$150m to modernize and expand existing infrastructure.

The current project, which has already begun, foresees the construction of a new fertilizer warehouse – in an area of 17 thousand square meters – with capacity for 120,000 tons of product, interconnected by conveyor belts with the operational cradles. Investments in this project are of R$70m.

This is another step in the PFPT modernization and readjustment project – with an investment of over R$25m over the next 9 months – and which includes the construction of a set of vertical silos for grains, bran, and cereals. The project has already been contracted and is in the mobilization phase of personnel and equipment.

In addition, the port structure development project foresees the expansion of 170 meters of the berth.

Since the start of operations in Antonina, PFPT has invested over R$300m, including storage structures and equipment.

Marketplace

PFPT is currently one of the main logistics options for major world producers and Brazilian fertilizer importers. Among them is Uralkali, a Russian company that accounts for 25% of all global potash production, the raw material for fertilizer production, and is the world leader in the segment.

The CEO of Uralkali in Brazil, who is a main client and also a shareholder of the terminal, Marcel Cisneros, says that the company has been investing for about eight years in PFPT.

“With the expansion, we will be able to increasingly direct ships to the Antonina terminal, generating income and revenue for the entire logistics chain,” said Marcel Cisneros.

Dredging

The new dredging of the access channel to the port of Antonina was pointed by the company as a determinant so that a larger number of ships could be moved through the Paraná terminal.

“The dredging being done by the Paranaguá and Antonina Ports Administration is expected to reestablish the channel depth to 9.5 meters later this year. This action, together with the current projects in progress, will allow us to double the capacity of handling solid bulk, cereals, bagged sugar, fertilizers, and general cargo through the Port of Antonina,” explains Gilberto Birkhan, PFPT CEO.

Numbers

In recent years, the terminal has increased its handling from 313,000 tons to 1.6m tons of cargo per year.

In the first six months of 2019 alone, the Antonina terminal increased its cargo handling by 43% from 343,000 between January and July 2018 to 493,000 in the same period this year.

This year, PFPT expects to move around 1.7m tons of fertilizer, soybean meal, cereals, bagged sugar, and general cargo.

Following the completion of the dredging and ongoing projects, the terminal’s handling capacity is expected to jump from the current 2m tons to 4m tons/year.

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