Vale to spend $2.9 bln to set up Brazil’s largest port

Vale SA (VALE5), the world’s biggest iron-ore producer, said it will invest $2.9 billion to increase the capacity of the Ponta da Madeira terminal in northern Brazil, making it the largest port in the country by volume, Bloomberg reports. Vale, which last year shipped 294.4 million metric tons of iron ore and pellets, will increase the terminal’s capacity to 150 million tons next year, the Rio de Janeiro-based company said today in a statement. The expansion will allow the terminal in the state of Maranho to receive and load two ships at once, the company said.

“The port will be an alternative to the three major ports of the South and Southeast regions” of the country, Vale said in the statement. “Besides handling more iron ore, Ponta da Madeira will become an important transport hub for soy and corn.”

The company loaded its Vale Brasil ship, the world’s largest ore carrier, for the first time earlier today at the same terminal, Vale said in a separate statement. The ship, which transports 391,000 tons of iron ore, will sail for the Chinese port of Dalian, it said.

Vale gained 21 centavos, or 0.5 percent, to 43.91 reais in Sao Paulo trading at 12:43 p.m. New York time. The stock dropped about 9 percent since the beginning of the year, more than the 9.1 percent decline for the benchmark Bovespa Index.