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Expansion of TECON Santos continues

The Port of Santos, Brazil, has started the work of deepening the pier and reinforcing the structure for the installation of rails for new ship to shore cranes TECON Santos - the largest container terminal in South America, located on the left bank of the Port of Santos.

Michele Labrut, Americas Correspondent

May 6, 2020

2 Min Read
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The work is the next stage of the terminal's modernisation and expansion project and requires investments of approximately $18m and a duration of 15 months.

The work will be carried out along 1,090 metres of the mooring dock (from cradles 1 and 2 of TECON Santos and TEV - Vehicle Terminal) and will increase the maximum depth of the dock to 16 metres. Currently, cradle 3 of TECON already has 16 metres of depth.

There will also be reinforcing the pier structure to receive rails for the new state-of-the-art gates that are part of the terminal's modernisation project. The first two gates - out of a total of eight - have already arrived at TECON and started operating on 3 April.

The new work, for which the construction company Piacentini do Brasil was hired, will be carried out in parallel with the other work already underway in the terminal, whose investments add up to $27, and which increases the extension of the berth from the current 1,290m to 1,510m.

With the conclusion of the two work fronts, scheduled for mid-2021, the entire extension of the TECON Santos and TEV berthing piers will have a maximum depth of 16m.

The project to expand and modernise TECON Santos is fundamental for the Port of Santos and Brazil’s foreign trade. It will allow the terminal to receive up to three post-panamax vessels (366 metres) simultaneously, adapting it to the new category of vessels planned to call at the port in the coming years.

Related:Port of Santos records best ever Q1 container volume

The company has a long-term vision and does not intend to change its investment plan due to the crisis caused by Covid-19, explained Antonio Carlos Sepulveda, president of Santos Brazil. "The port sector has strategic importance for the country and our responsibility to society requires that we are prepared to meet future demands with quality", he said.

The total investment foreseen in the expansion and modernisation project of TECON Santos is around $270m in updated values. It increases operational productivity, energy efficiency, speed, and flow of the operation and increases the terminal's handling capacity by at least 20%, from 2m teu to 2.4 teu per year. It will make it possible to efficiently meet the demand forecast for the port, with the arrival of the Post-Panamax ships, increasing the level of service and the experience of TECON Santos users.

The current cycle of investments in TECON Santos began in 2018.  Since then, the Company has invested more than $31m in the modernisation of TECON Santos, totalling $42m in all its business units, between 2018 and 2020.

 

About the Author

Michele Labrut

Americas Correspondent

Michèle Labrut is a long-time Panama resident, a journalist and correspondent, and has continuously covered the maritime sector of Central & Latin America.

Michèle first came to Panama as a press attaché to the French Embassy and then returned to the isthmus as a foreign correspondent in the 1980s.

Author of Seatrade Maritime's annual Panama Maritime Review magazine and of several books, Michèle also wrote for Time magazine, The Miami Herald, NBC News and the Economist Intelligence Unit. She has also collaborated in making several documentaries for the BBC and European and U.S. television networks.

Michèle's profession necessitates a profound knowledge of the country, but her acumen is not from necessity alone, but a genuine passion for Panama.

In 2012 she was awarded the Order of Merit (Knight grade) by the French Government for her services to international journalism and in 2021 the upgrade to Chevalier grade.

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