Government of Ceará begins work on the Export Processing Zone and continues with the expansion of the Port of Pecém

The Government of Ceará started the expansion works of the Export Processing Zone (ZPE), in the Port of Pecém. With investments of around R$ 30 million, sector 2 (as it is called) will occupy an area of ​​240 hectares. The forecast for delivery of the first module is by February 2021.

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According to the president of the ZPE Ceará, Mário Lima Júnior, this mix of infrastructure and business conditions make Ceará very competitive in attracting new companies.

“The EPZ is part of Ceará's development framework. We are a State that still has an industrial size smaller than the Southeast and this shows a very interesting destination for industrial investments. If we look at the universe of exporting industries in Brazil that need ideal export conditions, that condition is the Pecém EPZ. Here, port, road, communication, climate, and geographic conditions meet”, informed the executive.

The Governor of Ceará, Camilo Santana, said that new companies should set up in the area later this year, stimulating the offer of new jobs and economic growth in a post-pandemic scenario.

“This is an area of STATUS that we fought hard to include in the ZPE and we are starting within this resumption of Ceará's economy. The forecast is that this area will be ready in February, but there are already companies that are going to start building their facilities later this year”, said Santana.

Granite, mining and maquiladora industries are expected to settle after works in the Port of Pecém area

According to the president of the Ceará EPZ, Mário Lima Júnior, the area could be home to granite processing industries, mining companies and maquiladoras.

“In this first phase, we have granite processing industries, mining companies that produce special ores, such as manganese, and there are maquiladora industries, which are assemblers that receive imported components, assemble and export the final product. There are consultations, but nothing is formalized yet”, says Lima Júnior.

Port of Pecem

Currently, three companies operate in the Complex: Companhia Siderúrgica do Pecém (CSP), White Martins and Phoenix Pecém. In 2019, the trio handled more than 12 million tons of cargo.

The Port of Pecém is now a joint venture formed by the Government of Ceará (70%) and the Port of Rotterdam (30%). The site concentrates an industrial area, the Port of Pecém and the Ceará EPZ. According to Camilo, “the idea is to make the Port of Pecém a more modern port, which provides capacity and agility in loading and unloading, because this is very important – the efficiency in the service it provides in the operation of ships arriving from all over the world”.