Ethanol Plant in Bahia to Create Over 8,000 Job Openings in Construction, Maintenance, and Logistics

The New Plant in Bahia, Intended for the Production of Anhydrous and Hydrated Ethanol, Animal Feed, and Electric Energy, Has an Initial Investment of R$ 400 Million

More than 8,000 jobs will be generated for the construction work of the third plant in the Agro-Industrial and Bioenergy Pole of the Médio São Francisco in the municipality of Barra (650 km from Salvador) and in the western region. The project aimed at the production of anhydrous and hydrated ethanol, animal feed, and electric energy will have an initial investment of R$ 400 million.

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The new ethanol plant in Bahia will have a production capacity of 2 million tons of sugarcane per year, 80,000 liters of anhydrous ethanol/year, and 85,000 liters of hydrated ethanol/year.

The Vice Governor and Secretary of Planning, João Leão, informs that the goal is to create 11 plants, with sufficient production capacity to supply all of Bahia. “People who always fill their cars with fuel alcohol will now fill them with alcohol produced here in the state. The plan is to stop importing ethanol from other states and be competitive in the market, as well as develop the region where the municipalities hosting this project are located: Barra, Muquém do São Francisco, and Xique-Xique,” he added.

New Ethanol Plant Will Create More Than 8,000 Jobs in the Areas of Civil Construction, Maintenance, and Logistics in Bahia

Once completed, the ethanol plant will create 1,000 direct jobs and 7,000 indirect jobs. The field of the plant will employ 700 workers, including harvesters, tractor drivers, truck drivers, agricultural technicians, and engineers, and irrigation system operators. In the industry, there will be 300 employees divided between the industrial operation itself, machinery maintenance, laboratory analysis, and the financial administration of the company.

Pedro Leite, the plant director, states that indirect job vacancies will be generated in the micro-region from the movement of the supply chain. “From construction to maintenance of machines, logistics of input and products, support for the operation of the industry,” he clarifies, emphasizing that the selection for hiring will be announced in local and regional media, prioritizing training and hiring local labor.

If the short-term expectations are already promising, especially considering that the Médio São Francisco region has the lowest socioeconomic and educational indicators in the State of Bahia, in the next 10 years, investments of around R$ 9.65 billion will generate approximately 60,000 direct and indirect job vacancies in the region, in addition to increasing the state’s revenue by up to 12.4%.

Bahia Will Gain Four Ethanol and Sugar Plants and 7 Agricultural Projects

According to the head of the Secretary of Economic Development (SDE) Nelson Leal, the goal is to install 12 projects, which include four ethanol and sugar plants, with biomass electricity production, one in the municipality of Muquém do São Francisco, two in the municipality of Barra, and one in the municipality of Santa Maria da Vitória, one livestock project, and seven agricultural projects focused on the production of grains, tomatoes, and roots, including agro-industries for tomato pulp, processing of roots, and animal feed production.

“The integration of projects with family farming will enable land regularization and the generation of employment and income for 6,000 families from 33 settlement projects, covering an area of approximately 333,000 hectares, and for 1,200 families of small producers from 65 pasture communities known as Brejos da Barra,” he explains, reinforcing that these numbers do not include the job and income generation from peripheral economic activities, such as hotels, restaurants, general commerce, and other services.

João Leão emphasizes that there are seven projects in the study and analysis phase, which include two ethanol and sugar plants, with biomass electricity production, in the municipality of Barra, and five agricultural projects focused on the production of cocoa, grains, grapes, and papaya, including agro-industries for cocoa processing and production of wines, energy drinks, and cachaça.

Bevap Bioenergia signed a letter of intent at the end of 2020 to install the second sugar-alcohol plant in the Pole to produce ethanol, sugar, and cogeneration of electric energy, with the cultivation of sugarcane, and has an initial investment forecast of R$ 500 million, potentially reaching R$ 2 billion, including crop formation and industrial plant, in the municipality of Barra. The project for the second plant is expected to generate 2,000 direct jobs, and up to 10,000 indirect jobs when fully operational.