Libra and MRS to share terminal in Santos
Gazeta Mercantil - 04/16/2008
Libra Terminais and MRS Logística have entered into a partnership for the building and operation of the Terminal of Valongo (Teval) on the right bank of the port of Santos. R$ 97.5 million (US$ 55.7 million) will be invested in an area of 140 thousand square meters at the entrance of the city of Santos. The works are expected to begin this month and the operation in the second half of this year; it is estimated that it will have capacity for 300 thousand containers per year. Teval's general manager, Rodrigo Paixão, said that the new terminal will increase the logistics flow on the right bank of the port of Santos. "The idea is to be a white-flag terminal. In other words, besides Libra's cargo, other operators can use the Teval. Whereupon we still don't know the dimension of how much the handling of containers will increase per year", said the officer. Last year, Libra operated 525 thousand containers and an increase of 9% for 2008 is expected. "We haven't accounted for the increase with Teval's operation ", pointed out Paixão. The terminal will have two mixed-gage railroad branch-lines and 10 thousand square meters of covered warehouse. "It is strategically positioned in terms of location, besides having the entire railroad infrastructure practically ready. There is no need for major investments. The gain for MRS will be in the increase of the railroad transport on the right bank since there will be a reduction of up to 50% in the time the wagons stay in the port of Santos. We will optimize, gain time in transport", stated the officer. For Fontana Neto, "Teval will be a modern railroad logistics interface instrument for port activities capable of increasing the handling of cargo in the Port of Santos, improving, in a structured way, the competitiveness and reliability for its operators." As far as it is located before the railroad interchange of the Port of Santos, in a separate area, "Teval will reduce the time the wagons will stay in the Port of Santos in up to 50%, increasing the offer of railroad transport", informed Fontana. Teval will work 24 hours a day and it will be used exclusively for export cargo. With that, according to Paixão, the flow of containers to the port will be made at night. "We'll also have room to store the cargo which is waiting for the ship. The idea is also to operate large-sized cargoes in addition to containers", said Paixão.