Cosan and ALL close US$ 522 million deal
O Estado de S. Paulo 03/10/2009
Cosan, one of the greatest producers of sugar and alcohol of the world, will invest R$ 1.2 billion (US$ 522 million) to increase its railway transportation capacity until the port of Santos. Cosan closed a deal with the Brazilian company of railway transportation América Latina Logística (ALL) to manage the expansion. ALL already controls trains from the line of Bauru, in São Paulo, to the largest sea port of Latin America. Through the partnership, the investments will be applied in permanent railways, yards, wagons, locomotives and terminals in the next five years, increasing the transportation capacity of sugar and its derivates by ALL from the current 2 million tons for 9 million tons in 2013. "With that, the São Paulo railway transportation of sugar should jump from the current 15% to nearly 50% in 2013", said Hees. Through the partnership, ALL will operate the assets of Rumo in the railway system at competitive prices. The agreement is valid until 2028, with possibility of renewal for another 30 years. According to the executive, after 2010, it is already expected an increase in the volume carried due to the new investments. From the fourth year on, the minimum volume that should be transported by ALL is 1.09 million tons a month. Despite the control of Cosan, Rumo Logística also operates with sugar from other companies; the same happens with ALL. "Today we transport mainly the sugar from Cosan and Copersucar and the goal is to increase this range in the use of the infrastructure that will be increased with the investments", he says. According to the relevant fact released by Cosan S.A., from the amount to be invested, R$ 535 million (US$ 233 million) will be invested in the duplication, expansion and improvement of the permanent railway of the railway corridor between Itirapina, in the interior of São Paulo, and the port of Santos. Other R$ 435 million (US$ 189n million) will be intended for the increase of the traction capacity, with the availability to ALL of 79 locomotives and 1,108 wagons with capacity of 30 tons/axle. It is also foreseen the construction of a new terminal in Itirapina and the enlargement of the terminal owned by Rumo in Santos, with investments of R$ 206 million (US$ 90 million).