billionaire project is greenfield, that is, it will start from scratch, and with expectations of generating hundreds of jobs

Maersk, the world's largest maritime logistics company, intends to start work on a new container terminal in Port of Suape, in the metropolitan area of ​​Recife (PE), next year. The company, through APM Terminals, acquired an internal area of ​​the Atlântico Sul shipyard in July of this year, after a long, heated and controversial legal fight with the other competing companies.

With an expected investment of up to BRL 2,6 billion, the space should have an initial capacity to handle 400 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent container units), increasing the operating potential of the Suape port complex by 55% . But these changes are subject to licensing and other expected bureaucratic actions. Therefore, Maersk's expectation is that the works will begin between the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, and the start of operations in 2026.

It is worth remembering that the terminal project in Suape is greenfield. In other words, it will start from scratch. This is one of the examples of how much the company has been investing in Brazil and Latin America, contributing to the improvement of local infrastructure and making the Brazilian port sector more efficient. Maersk owns more than 70 port terminals around the world, 11 of which in South America.

In a newsletter sent to the portal's reporter Click Oil and Gas – CPG, the company says that “investments in Suape will contribute to the development of a modern and competitive terminal, significantly reducing costs for customers and improving services, thanks to qualified labor and the introduction of an innovative operating standard”.

Maersk's arrival in Suape ends Tecon's monopoly

The purchase of the internal area of ​​the Atlântico Sul shipyard by Maersk was celebrated by the Port of Suape itself. The arrival of the Danish company will end the monopoly of tecon in moving containers on site.

The Filipinos from Tecon have been operating in Suape since 2001 in the form of a concession, which is why they exercise operational standards of the organized port, and apply tariffs considered the most expensive in the country. APM Terminals will deploy its Private Use Terminal (TUP) outside the organized port, bringing competition to Tecon.

For APM Terminals, “competition can add value to customers and attract new cargo flows, helping the port of Suape to grow faster and generating more business for the State of Pernambuco”.

Recent investments are already part of the strategy aimed at Suape

At the end of November, Maersk announced that it will expand its operations in land transportand after the purchase of 222 new trailers and 113 “trucks” (EURO 5 Meteor and Constellation), this being the largest batch of the model ever delivered by Volkswagen.

These new trucks are indicated for road transport of cargo over medium and long distances. Thus, the company will expand its business involving the sector of food and beverages, electronics, household items and even items for personal use.

This is a strategy that strengthens its routes from São Paulo to Amazonas and expands its operations in Bahia, Santa Catarina and Pernambuco, places where the company has been involved in legal battles for new businesses, including the purchase of the area located at Estaleiro Atlântico Sul , in Suape.

Dredging in Suape

While Maersk's billion-dollar venture is not installed, the Port of Suape is carrying out improvements in the area in order to meet future demand. In November, dredging was resumed in the main access channel to the terminal in Pernambuco.

This service was paralyzed with 85% of the works carried out since 2013 due to a legal impasse between the Government of Pernambuco and the Dutch company Royal Van Oord. Negotiations resumed in October 2021 and resulted in a good deal for both parties.

The dredging will carry out a deepening of 20 meters in six kilometers at a cost of R$ 140 million. A state-of-the-art dredger is used to remove sediment and rock.