VLI deepens operationalization works of the Porto Franco Integrator Terminal (TIPF)

VLI increased the pace of the operationalization works conducted at the Porto Franco Integrator Terminal (TIPF) in Maranhão. The works began towards the end of 2021 and gained momentum in the first two months of 2022. The terminal is of strategic relevance in terms of cargo handling in the so-called “Arco Norte” region.

The operationalization will happen in two phases: first, the maintenance of the unit’s structure will be complete and then the flow of trucks loaded with grains will be redirected to the site. According to the company’s preliminary plans, the TIPF should be ready to ship loads by the beginning of the second quarter of 2022. The terminal will be fully operational for the next 15 years under the management of VLI, with a five-year extension option.

According to VLI’s project implementation supervisor, Roberto Soares, shortly after VLI and Valec signed the TIPF concession contract, the company began to work on the terminal’s renovations, preliminary studies, legal processes, and structural analysis.

VLI connected the railway network to the most prominent ports in the region as a logistical solution to integrate different transportation modals. The initiative has already been implemented at the integrator terminals of Porto Nacional and Palmeirante, in Tocantins, and at the Port Terminal of São Luís, in Maranhão. Loads of corn, soybeans, and soy bran leave the country’s interior via railway, passing through the terminals of Porto Nacional and Palmeirante before continuing to Porto do Itaqui.

Porto Franco Terminal will be a strategic terminal for the flow of grains from the region, with an operating capacity of 95 thousand tons per month. The terminal is expected to increase cargo handling in the region by approximately 30%. In this regard, Bruno Pantoja, Commercial Manager of Grains at VLI, emphasizes the asset’s role in crop flow. “We have customers who originate loads in the region but do not have access to their own terminal. TIPF will fill this gap by acting as a white flag terminal and capturing these loads for the rail modal,” he emphasizes.

The microregions that converge on Porto Franco are Maranhão’s south, Piau’s south, and Tocantins’ east. In 2021, these regions produced a total of 10 million tons of grains (soybeans and corn). Production is expected to be approximately 11.4 million tons in 2022.

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