10/15/2008 13h49
Ethanol stimulates investments in the port of São Sebastião
Valor Econômico - 10/15/2008
The port of São Sebastião, on the north coast of state of São Paulo, shall receive investments amounting to R$ 5 billion (US$ 2.27 billion) in the next four years, most of which to logistics infrastructure for ethanol. Part of those funds will be for the construction of an alcohol terminal connected to an alcohol duct, affirmed Frederico Bussinger, president of the Companhia Docas of the Port of São Sebastião to Valor. The request for the environmental license was made in July and the public auctions should be held from the second semester of 2009 on. The port of São Sebastião currently does not flow a single drop of alcohol, but many companies of the sugar and alcohol sector consider the location strategic for exportation, since the port of Santos, the biggest port in Latin America, is practically in the limit of its installed capacity. Three projects for the construction of alcohol ducts were announced in the country, but none of them has been started yet. Each alcohol duct project is estimated in approximately US$ 1 billion. Without "agricultural vocation" the port of São Sebastião slowly tries to diversify its business. Traditionally the port of São Sebastião exports solid bulks, mainly soda ash (raw material for detergents) and sulphate, in addition to automobiles. In the short-term, part of the investments will start being made with allocations between R$ 1.5 billion (US$ 681.8 million) and R$ 1.7 billion (US$ 772.7 million) from the estimated total of R$ 5 billion (US$ 2.27 billion), destined to dredging, landfills and tankages. Another R$ 880 million (US$ 400 million) will be invested in the project for the construction of a duct, connecting Paulínia to São Sebastião, with extension of 253 kilometers. This duct will be responsible for the alcohol outflow that gets from Paulínia to the port. The investments in the terminal and ethanol infrastructure, on their hand, should be made from the second semester of 2009 on, when the public auctions can be held. Heavy allocations should also be applied in the construction of a 25-kilometer road between Caraguatatuba and São Sebastião, which will facilitate the access of trucks to the port. In addition to the investments in ethanol, the port of São Sebastião should receive allocations to meet the activities of the "off shore" and containers areas. The idea is that São Sebastião also becomes a logistics platform in the exploration of the new discoveries of the Tope field and of gas in the Maxillae field and should also serve as an alternative in the State, for cargos from the Vale do Paribas region and from the interior of the state of São Paulo, releasing the bottleneck of the Brazilian port system.
