The privatization of the port of Itajaí has sparked debate about the city’s future

The announcement by the National Secretary of Ports, Diogo Piloni, that the Port of Itajaí will be privatized later this year sparked market speculation about who should run the port for the next 35 years. The natural inclination would be for the dispute to escalate between Maersk, presented at the site via APM Terminals for more than 20 years, and MSC, Portonave’s parent company.

However, one of the rules stipulated by the National Secretariat of Ports prohibits companies operating in large terminals near the port from joining consortiums to compete in the auction.  The rule is justified because the National Water Transport Agency (Antaq) wants to avoid monopolies in the sector. As a result, APM Terminals, a subsidiary of the Maersk group, is expected to lose its concession at the Port of Itajaí, attracting the attention of Chinese and Arab enterprises interested in exploring Brazilian ports.

The first issue that comes to mind due to this conversation is: what are the significant consequences for the city? The first aspect to consider is that the termination of the APM Terminais concession will leave the municipality with a significant logistical gap. Because Itajaí is an essential hub for the export of reefer containers, terminals and outsourced firms have mobilized over the years to create all of the infrastructure required to fulfill the needs of refrigerated logistics. Maersk, for example, would stop calling directly at the port of Itajaí if the concession ended.

Another issue to be observed is employability in the region. Besides the opportunities promoted by the port, the city will lose its status as an important calling point for import routes, which generates plenty of jobs in transportation and logistics. That may be irreversible at this point, as the company has already indicated the possibility of moving all its services to the Port of Itapoá (SC), where Maersk holds a 49% shareholding.

What about the future? Can Maersk return to Itajaí? According to experts, the answer is yes, but that would only happen with small ships. The trend is that the port becomes a hub, connecting with the Port of Itapoá via feeder in specific routes.

Rafael Dantas, commercial director at Asia Shipping, is cautious when asked what would be the best option for Itajaí, considering the interests of Arab and Chinese companies. Although the Arabs of DP World are linked to the Dubai government fund, they are not shareholders of any relevant shipowner in the world, which would not guarantee that the most important services in Asia would look at the port for calling.

The Chinese, on the other hand, as potential buyers of Brazilian beef, would bring with them the vessels of COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited, the 4th largest shipowner in the world, along with other companies that are also part of this service. Therefore, some believe that this configuration would generate more jobs and bring even more competitiveness to the state of Santa Catarina.

Source: Comex do Brasil

To read the full original article, please go to:

https://www.comexdobrasil.com/privatizacao-do-porto-de-itajai-em-santa-catarina-gera-especulacoes-sobre-o-futuro-da-cidade/

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