LLX Busy Building the Açu Super Port
llxbusybuildingthea usuperport
Located in São João da Barra, about 4 hours north of the city of Rio de Janeiro, the Açu Superport is a private mixed-use port terminal that will have 10 docking berths; four for iron ore, two for oil-handling, one for coal and three for steel products, slag, granite and pig iron.
LLX, established in March 2007, is the port terminals logistics company of the EBX Group. Since the company started, they have been building two large, mixed use ports, strategically located in southeast Brazil, this area represents approximately 75% of Brazilian GDP. These terminals are expected to be as good as the most modern port terminals anywhere in the world.
The Açu Superport will have a depth of 21 meters, and a bridge 2.9 kilometers long and will allow the mooring of Chinamax vessels with 400,000 DWT. The port has great potential for the O&G industry due to its proximity to the Campos Basin and also for coastal and international trade in various raw material and industrialized goods. Since it´s a new private venture, there is hope that the rates for coastal ships won´t be as high as they normally are now. This new port will also go a long way to relieve the high volume of shipping that is expected for the next 10 years.
The project is currently under construction and is scheduled to begin operations in 2012. When operational, the Açu Superport will serve as a major logistics center for the mid-west and southeast regions. It should rank among the world’s most modern and efficient industrial ports. Inland, in a 90 km² area adjacent to the port an industrial complex will be built. The industrial complex will include a variety of industrial operations that require access to global shipping channels, such as steel mills, thermo-electric power plant, cement producers, a metal/mechanical area, pelletizing plants for ores, oil treatment unit, in addition to the yards for storage and handling of products.
Additional services will also be offered by companies that specialize in shipping, intermodal integration, warehousing and customs clearance. This concept of the one-stop-shop will offer companies located in the industrial complex all of the services they will need for production and transportation of their goods.
As a further incentive, companies may be eligible for tax incentives relating to the ICMS (Merchandise Circulation VAT) for the North of the State of Rio, which provides for tax concessions or differential rates in the purchase of capital goods and inputs for industrial production. In addition, the industries installed there will have energy provided by the MPX thermo-electric plant (part of the EBX group, as is LLX), with the first phase using imported coal and generating 2,100 MW and the second phase using gas and generating 3,300 MW.
A 45 km logistics corridor, consisting of transmission lines, water, gas and telecom pipelines, a railroad and a 4 lane highway, will connect the Açu Superport to the city of Campos. This logistics corridor will be able to handle up to 100 thousand vehicles per day.
It really looks like a good deal to finally have a new big port in Rio, that catch is that it needs to be efficient, as it is known that most, if not all the ports in Brazil lack the structure and efficiency that is expected of first rate ports. The fact that it will have an industrial complex next to it will definitely be an incentive for growth, there is also a good chance that the same group will place a large modern shipyard next to the port, which is also a good deal as the local market demand for new ships, FPSOs and rigs is on an all time high.
Claudio Paschoa
Illustration courtesy of LLX
Paschoa, Claudio
Claudio Paschoa is Marine Technology Reporter's correspondent in Brazil.
Email: [email protected]
February 2024
