APM Terminals took a 50% share in BTP in August of 2010 with joint venture partner TIL, which operates the facility. Development of the new multi-purpose terminal began in 2007, and will provide annual throughput capacity of 1.2m teu and 1.4m tonnes of liquid bulk cargo as well as 1,108 m of quay when fully operational, representing an overall investment of $1bn.
The Port of Santos is the busiest container port in South America handling approximately 3m teu, representing 25% of Brazil’s foreign trade. Brazil, with a GDP of $2.4trn, is South America’s largest economy and the 7th biggest in the world.
The MSC Challenger is 233 m in length, with a draught of 9.9 m. Under the current draught limitations, BTP can only handle vessels with a draught of up to 11.2 m due to the navigation channel water depth. Once the dredging is completed the terminal can accommodate three vessels up to 9,200 teu capacity simultaneously, with a 15m draught, representing today’s world-class port standards. The majority of strings calling in Brazil ports require 15 metres draught.
Operating licences for the terminal were officially issued in July, but full operations will have to wait until the contracted dredging has been completed by the authorities, now scheduled for October 2013. Phase 2 operating licenses for BTP were requested in August this year which will allow BTP to extend the quay another 708 m and build out the rest of the container yard.
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