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Rail corridor in Ceará brings together branch, terminal, and conveyor belt to expand cargo movement in Pecém, connect Transnordestina to the port, and prepare a new logistics route for grains, fertilizers, minerals, and general cargo in the Northeast.
With an expected investment of R$ 3.6 billion, Transnordestina Logística S.A. is preparing a set of works to connect the railway to the Port of Pecém, in the Metropolitan Region of Fortaleza, through a railway branch, cargo terminal, and conveyor belt.
Signed on Tuesday (16), the service order for the branch marked a stage considered decisive to integrate the railway network to the Private Use Terminal of Nordeste Logística, the TUP Nelog, within the Pecém Complex.
Aimed at expanding rail freight transport in Ceará, the project should move products such as grains, fertilizers, minerals, and general cargo, in an operation planned to reduce the dependence on trucks for part of the flow.
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In practice, the structure seeks to prepare Pecém to receive larger volumes associated with Transnordestina, with integration between railway, storage, and maritime shipping in a logistics route aimed at the northeastern interior.
Railway branch will connect Transnordestina to the Port of Pecém
Among the planned works, the railway branch will play a central role in the connection between lot 11 of Transnordestina and the future cargo terminal installed in the Pecém Complex, a strategic area for port flow.
Responsible for the construction of the section, Marquise Infraestrutura estimates an investment of R$ 150 million in the work, which will have 7.5 kilometers of extension to the base where the terminal will be implemented.
For Renan Carvalho, director of Marquise Infraestrutura, the new section functions as a natural extension of the railway towards the Ceará port. “It is like the access to the base where the terminal will be implemented, that is, it is the interconnection of Transnordestina with the Port of Pecém,” stated the executive.
In addition to the physical connection with the terminal, the work is expected to add 300 direct jobs to the fronts already opened by Transnordestina, which currently maintains about 1,5 thousand direct workers, according to the company’s director.
Cargo terminal will have billion-dollar investment in Ceará
Still in the hiring phase, the cargo terminal depends on the completion of the bidding process to define the construction company responsible for the works, although the expectation informed by TLSA is to start construction still in 2026.
Linked to the Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional, the concessionaire foresees an investment of R$ 3 billion in the terminal, whose implementation will occur in stages and will begin with a focus on receiving and handling grains.
In the first phase, according to Tufi Daher Filho, Executive Director of Infrastructure and Logistics at CSN, the operation should prioritize cargo coming from Matopiba, a region formed by areas of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí, and Bahia.
With 84 hectares planned and the possibility of expansion, the terminal will also have three warehouses for grains, each with a capacity of 125 thousand tons, in addition to structures for handling fertilizers and other cargo.
According to the estimates presented by Tufi, the new structure could help the Port of Pecém increase its annual movement from about 20 million tons to 40 million tons. “The expectation is that the Port will go to 40 million tons with the terminal,” said the executive.
Grains and fertilizers are expected to drive the new logistics route
The planned operation for the railway corridor combines two main flows, with cargo from the interior heading for export through Pecém and imported fertilizers entering through the port to supply producing regions in the Northeast.
In this model, grains, minerals, and other goods should arrive at the terminal via Transnordestina, while fertilizers will follow in the opposite direction, using the railway to reach agricultural areas far from the coast.
Although Pecém already has a consolidated vocation for containers, Tufi Daher Filho stated that the port still needs specific infrastructure to operate large volumes of agricultural bulk. “This terminal will be prepared to receive grains, fertilizers, and even minerals,” said the Executive Director of CSN.
To complete the logistics package, a conveyor belt to the ships is planned, with an estimated investment of R$ 500 million and use mainly focused on the internal transport of grains and fertilizers in the port area.
Transnordestina advances to integrate production and port
The connection with Pecém is part of the effort to make operational the section of the Transnordestina that connects producing areas in the northeastern interior to the Ceará port, in a route considered essential for higher volume cargo.
According to the Pecém Complex, the first phase of the railway reached about 82% completion, with an expectation of completion in 2027 and progress in the fronts aimed at integration with the port structure.
In total, the railway will have 1,206 kilometers of extension between Eliseu Martins, in Piauí, and the Port of Pecém, crossing 53 municipalities and serving cargo such as grains, fertilizers, cement, fuels, and ore.
During the signing of the service order, Governor Elmano de Freitas stated that the conveyor belt completes the necessary structure to transport goods to the ships, especially in the flow of agricultural bulk.
According to the governor, in the grain segment alone, the forecast is to increase by 30% the cargo handled by the Port of Pecém, reinforcing the terminal’s role in the logistical expansion planned for the coming years.
Treated as a complementary piece to the completion of the railway, the operation of the terminal depends on the arrival of the tracks at the port and the implementation of storage, unloading, and loading structures.
The forecast mentioned by Tufi Daher Filho is to complete the works in 2027, along with the Transnordestina, and start operation at the end of that year.
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