Brasil Terminal Portuário officially open in Santos
Brasil Terminal Portuário (BTP) was officially opened today with a gala celebration held at the new 1.2 million TEU annual capacity facility at the Port of Santos, featuring Brazilian Minister of Seaports, Antonio Henrique Silveira and 500 invited guests and media representatives, APM Terminals said in its press release.
Development of the multi - purpose terminal project in South America’s busiest container port began in 2007 , with APM Terminals acquiring a 50% share from Terminal Investment Limited (TIL) in 2010. The terminal represents an investment of over USD 1 billion by APM Terminals , and is operating as a joint venture with the current concession spanning 20 years.
“We appreciate the efforts of President Rousseff’s administration to su pport BTP’s role in shaping Bra z il’s economic future and we look forward to seeing the government complete both the local access road and access channel dredging. Once finalized, these initiatives will help create the essential port and landside i nfrastructure necessary for Brazil to reach its ambitions. Working together with our partner – TIL - whose vision and dedication have built the port and made it an incredible environmental success – APM Terminals will work hard to deliver high productivity to shipping lines, importers, exporters and truckers”, stated APM Terminals CEO Kim Fejfer who participated in the terminal inauguration event.
Although fully equipped and operational since March, commercial operations at BTP could not commence until the terminal was issued International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Certification in April, and granted an operating license from the Bra z ilian Institute of Environmental and Renewable Natural resources in July. The first commercial vessel call took place August 14 th , and with scheduled dredging having been completed in Oc tober, BTP has become fully operational with 1,108 meters of quay and a 15 meter depth, capable of serving three x 9,200 TEU capacity vessel calls simultaneously. The 490,000 square meter (121 acre) terminal is equipped with e ight Ship - to - Shore cranes, 26 RTGs, 40 terminal trucks, and an automated 18 lane gate.
Constructed on a remediated brownfield industrial site to the highest standards of environmentally sustainable operations , BTP is the only terminal in the region that has a dedicated par king area for t ruckers, removing the vehicles from city roads , and improv ing air quality by significantly reducing diesel emissions resulting from traffic congestion . APM Terminals handled 528,000 TEUs at existing Bra z ilian operating terminals at the Ports of Itajai and Pecém in 2012, and has been active in port operations locally since 2007. The company also maintains a business development office in Rio de Janeiro , as well as local Braz ilian Inland Services operations in Santos , Itajai, Paranagua , Rio Grande and Itapoa.
With the opening of BTP, APM Terminals - affiliated port facilit ies offer a combined annual Brazilian container throughput capacity of 2.25 million TEUs. The Port of Santos, the busiest container port in South America, handled 3 million TEUs in 2012, with total Bra z ilian container throughput of 8.3 million TEUs for the year. At USD $2.39 trillion, Brazil’s economy is the largest in Latin America, and the 7 th - largest globally by Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) calculation. The Brazilian government has announced plans for USD $26 billion investment in much needed infrastructure between 2012 and 2017 to accommodate project ed economic and trade growth .
“APM Terminals has now arrived in Santos, but we are not new arrivals to Brazil” noted Mr. Fejfer, adding “ With a positive business environment, and the commitment of our local and global partners, we plan to continue to grow here in Bra z il, and become an even bigger part of Bra z il’s ongoing infrastructure investment, economic growth, and success ”.