Brazil builds Latin America's largest container terminal
Porto Central, the largest port complex under construction on the east coast of South America, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Praxys, an internationally renowned business consultancy, to jointly build one of the largest container terminals in Latin America. The implementation of the project will effectively fill the deep water port infrastructure gap on the east coast of South America and significantly enhance Brazil's position as a hub in the global shipping network.
The project site is located in the city of President Kennedy in the state of Espirito Santo in the southeast of Brazil, located in the central location of the East coast of the country, only 200 nautical miles from Rio de Janeiro. The project will be developed in two phases, the first phase of the channel water depth of 18 meters, the second phase will be expanded to 20 meters, becoming the first modern pier in South America with 20 meters deep water berth. This core advantage enables it to accommodate very large container ships ranging from 21,000 to 24,000 TEUs, providing a strategic pivot for major trade routes such as Asia-South America and Europe-South America.
In addition, on the one hand, the completion of the deepwater port can reduce logistics costs by about 30% through large-scale operation, on the other hand, it will optimize the regional distribution system of Asian and European goods, and provide efficient transit services for neighboring countries such as Argentina and Uruguay. It is estimated that after the project is fully operational, the comprehensive competitiveness index of Brazilian ports will be increased by 15%-20%.
It is understood that with its deep accumulation in the maritime field, Placace Group will lead the construction of the commercial operation system of the project. Jesper Kjaedegaard, a former Maersk Line executive with more than 40 years of experience in the container logistics industry, has led the planning and construction of several international hub ports.
"This epochal project will revolutionize shipping on the east coast of South America." "Not only will it attract more direct intercontinental routes, but more importantly, it will restructure the regional supply chain, saving Brazilian exporters an average of 18-22% in logistics costs, while creating more than 12,000 direct jobs in the state of Espirito Santo," Kajdegaard stressed at the signing ceremony.
Market analysis points out that with the acceleration of the global ship upsizing trend (currently the average capacity of new container ships has reached 16,000TEU), the completion of the project will give Brazil the ability to receive the world's largest container ships for the first time, and is expected to reduce the shipping time of the country to major Asian trading ports by 5-7 days. Brazilian Ministry of Transport officials revealed that the port has been included in the National Logistics Development Plan (PNL 2035) priority project list, and related supporting infrastructure will receive special federal financial support.
About Porto Central Brazil
With a total area of more than 20 million square meters, Porto Central will be one of the largest port and industrial complexes in Brazil, located on the multi-purpose port axis on the southern coast of Espirito Santo State, Brazil. With water depths of up to 25 metres, it can accommodate the world's largest ships and handle a wide range of cargo types, including oil, gas, energy generation equipment, offshore support supplies, grains, fertilisers, minerals, containers and general cargo. At present, Brazil's Central Port is advancing the construction of its first phase, focusing on the construction of an oil transfer terminal, which is expected to be completed in 2027.
About Praxys
Praxys is a financial, commercial and strategic consultancy specialising in port infrastructure and concessions, with over 35 years of experience in structuring and transacting large scale projects. The firm specializes in commercial structure design and transaction advisory services for major infrastructure projects, and has advised companies such as Embraport and CCR Group, as well as participating in Brazil's first public-private partnership (PPP) project.
