Federal public company will collect data to draw up the Master Plan for the Paranaguá and Antonina Port Complex
On Thursday afternoon, June 13, TCP, the company that manages the Paranaguá Container Terminal, received a delegation from INFRA S.A. and the Federal University of Maranhão (UFMA). The purpose of the visit was to get to know the structure of the Terminal and to gather data so that INFRA S.A. can propose a revision of the Master Plan for the Paranaguá and Antonina Port Complex, which should guide actions and investments in the short, medium and long term involving aspects of port management, the environment, operational improvements and port-city interaction.
Responsible for providing planning, project structuring, engineering and innovation services for the transportation sector, INFRA S.A. is a federal public company linked to the Ministry of Transportation. UFMA, meanwhile, is acting as INFRA S.A.’s technical arm in the preparation of the Paranaguá and Antonina Port Complex Master Plan as part of the 5th Port Planning Cycle of the National Ports Secretariat of the Ministry of Ports and Airports.
The teams from the public company and the university were accompanied by leaders from the Terminal on a technical tour of the operations yard and then took part in a presentation that covered market prospects, as well as data on TCP’s infrastructure, operational capacity and logistics.
According to Rafael Stein, TCP’s institutional and legal manager, “the Master Plan plays an important role both for the port complex and for the entire community, as it covers the study of improvements and solutions in the port-city relationship, as well as having a scope dedicated exclusively to sustainability initiatives”.
INFRA S.A.’s port planning coordinator, Samantha Albuquerque, points out that “TCP is very important not only for the Port of Paranaguá, but also for Brazil, due to the volume it handles, especially reefer containers. That’s why the Master Plan is crucial for the company and for the port complex as a whole, because it’s a planning tool that guides the National Ports Secretariat in strategically directing investments in improvements.”
An important export corridor for agribusiness products in its region of influence, which includes the states of Paraná, Santa Catarina, São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul, TCP accumulated a 38% growth in the volume of containers handled in the first four months of 2024 alone, reaching 509,203 TEUs compared to the 368,720 recorded in the same period last year.
To meet the increase in market demand, TCP invested R$370 million between 2022 and 2024 in the acquisition of new equipment, the implementation of new technologies and structural improvements.
The refurbishment of the Gates, the gates through which trucks pass and which give access to the operations yard, was one of the projects that has already brought results for the Terminal and for Paranaguá. “By expanding the number of access roads, and with the embedded technology and automation processes we have implemented, we have been able to improve the flow of truck appointments by 200%, from 50 to 150 appointments per hour, which reduces waiting times and congestion in the port region,” explains Stein.
As a result of the completion of the work, TCP registered a new record for container transactions through the Gate this April, reaching 49,417 containers.
TCP participates in discussions on the study to expand the Paraná Oeste S.A. railroad
In April, TCP received a visit from the National Secretary for Rail Transportation, Leonardo Ribeiro, and the Coordinator of the State Rail Plan Working Group, Luiz Henrique Fagundes, to learn about the Terminal’s operations and discuss the role of the project to expand and renew the national rail network, which includes Nova Ferroeste, within the context of port logistics.
With the aim of extending the ParanáOeste S.A. Railway, which is currently just over 200 kilometers long, Nova Ferroeste plans to cover 1,567 kilometers, connecting the municipalities of Maracaju (MS) and Paranaguá, as well as creating a branch line between Foz do Iguaçu and Cascavel and between Chapecó (SC) and Cascavel, thus becoming the second largest grain and container corridor in the country.
“The rail modal represents a differential for TCP, as we are the only terminal in southern Brazil that has a railroad with direct access to the primary zone, within our operations yard. This type of transportation is a more sustainable alternative, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions, as well as reducing the pressure on the flow of trucks on the country’s highways,” says Stein.
Approximately one in six containers arriving at the Terminal are transported by rail.
