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The construction of TikTok’s data center in the Pecém Complex, Ceará, has advanced to the assembly phase, and starting in April 2027, it will begin receiving 15 cargo planes per month from China with technological equipment. The Ceará government plans to use the return flights to export local agribusiness products directly to China. The ByteDance venture will be the largest data center in Brazil with 200 MW of capacity, an investment exceeding R$ 200 billion, and an estimated commercial operation in the third quarter of 2027.
Ceará is about to receive 15 cargo planes per month directly from China starting in April 2027, and the story behind this air bridge involves much more than technology. The flights bring equipment for the construction of the largest data center in Brazil, contracted by ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, in the Pecém Complex. But the insight that transforms the logistics of these cargo planes into an economic strategy lies in the return trip: the Ceará government wants to fill these planes with local agribusiness products so that no flight returns to China empty.
The idea is simple and brilliant at the same time. The Secretary of Economic Development of Ceará, Fábio Feijó, explains: “The planes will come loaded with equipment and can return to China empty. Or they can return with products from Ceará, based on negotiations with Chinese buyers.” The opportunity creates an air export corridor that did not exist before and can benefit sectors such as fruit farming, cashew nuts, shrimp, and other high value-added items that Ceará produces and China consumes.
The TikTok data center that created the air bridge
Photo: Disclosure/Government of Ceará.
According to information released by the Diário do Nordeste portal, the venture that justifies 15 monthly cargo planes is TikTok‘s first data processing hub in Latin America. There will be 20 data halls divided into two buildings, with an initial processing capacity of 200 MW fully contracted by ByteDance, which invested over R$ 200 billion in the project. When completed, it will be the largest data center in Brazil and one of the largest in the region.
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The construction has advanced to the assembly phase of the pre-molded structures of the first building, with already covered spaces beginning to take shape. The workforce on the site is increasing and is expected to reach a thousand people in the coming days, according to Rodrigo Abreu, CEO of Omnia Data Centers, responsible for the construction. The initial structure is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, and the first half of 2027 will be dedicated to electrical assembly and installation of the technological infrastructure.
The strategy of return flights with Ceará products
Cargo aviation logistics operates with a rigid economic logic: a plane that returns empty is a loss. When 15 monthly flights depart from China to Ceará loaded with equipment, the outbound journey is already paid for, but the return represents operational cost without revenue. It is this gap that the Ceará government wants to transform into an opportunity for the state’s agribusiness.
Ceará is a significant producer of tropical fruits, cashew nuts, shrimp, honey, and other products in demand in China. Air freight for export is normally prohibitive for agribusiness, but when cargo planes already need to return anyway, the cost of filling them with cargo is significantly lower than chartering an exclusive flight. Negotiations with Chinese buyers could open an air export channel that Ceará has never had and that would benefit producers throughout the state.
The R$ 190 million already contracted and the impact on Ceará
Omnia has a formal commitment to prioritize Ceará companies in its supplier roster for the construction of the data center. R$ 190 million has already been contracted for the work, and about 90% of the value was allocated to companies from Ceará, demonstrating that the venture generates local economic impact beyond direct jobs in construction.
Secretary Fábio Feijó highlighted that Omnia provides detailed information on what was not purchased in Ceará and the reasons, creating a database that allows identifying gaps in the local production chain. “This allows for feeding public policies and competitiveness gap analysis,” he stated, signaling that the model will be replicated in future investments. The data center functions as a laboratory for regional economic development, not just as a technological infrastructure project.
Brazil’s largest data center and the jobs it creates
When completed, the Pecém venture will be the largest data center in Brazil and the first in Latin America with TikTok operations. The expectation is to generate 3,800 jobs in the construction phase and 400 permanent positions in operation, numbers that position the project as one of the largest employers in the Pecém Complex and an anchor for development in the metropolitan region of Fortaleza.
The data center will be entirely supplied by renewable energy, provided by Casa dos Ventos. There will be two large wind farms in Ceará, with the possibility of a third plant in another state, ensuring that the data processing operation has a minimal carbon footprint. The combination of abundant clean energy, strategic location, and state government incentives were the factors that attracted ByteDance to Ceará instead of other Brazilian states.
Future expansion and other tech giants in sight
ByteDance has already stated its intention to expand operations in Ceará beyond the initial 200 MW. “The ByteDance client will expand operations in the future; they have already stated that the intention is to expand this campus to be much larger than the initial one,” revealed Rodrigo Abreu. In addition to TikTok, Omnia is also in talks with other global technology giants interested in installing operations on the same campus.
The CEO explains that hyperscale data centers like the one in Ceará serve a limited number of global clients, between 8 and 12 companies with demand equivalent to high capacity. “These are long-term projects with hundreds of billions in committed investment,” he states. For Ceará, each new client that settles in Pecém means more cargo planes with equipment, more jobs, more revenue, and more Ceará products embarking on return flights to China.
Did you know that TikTok is building Brazil’s largest data center in Ceará and that cargo planes from China will bring equipment every month? Tell us in the comments what you think of the idea of filling the return flights with Ceará agribusiness products and if you believe Ceará can become a technological hub in the Northeast.
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