Brazil’s Administrative Council for the Defence of the Economy (CADE) has given the go-ahead for Odebrecht Transport to buy a 75% stake in Agrovia do Nordeste. As part of its approval, a new dedicated sugar terminal will be built at the port of Suape, which will require investment of around $75 million.
The terminal, which will make use of existing berth 5, is expected to commence operations in 2015. It will reduce from 15 to 5 days the time needed to load stockpiled sugar as well as allowing the operational capacity of consignments to increase from 10,000 tonnes to 35,000 tonnes.
Berth 5 is 355m long and is served by a backup area of 72,500 square metres. The terminal will have an operating concession for 25 years, although could be expanded for a further 25 years beyond that. In its first year, it is expected to handle 200,000 tonnes of sugar, increasing to 738,000 tonnes by 2038.