US$ 540 million Brazil port contract awarded

A consortium led by contractor FCC has been awarded a € 407 million (US$ 540 million) contract to expand the Açu super port in Brazil with a second terminal, making it the third-largest largest port in world when complete.

Located in the north-eastern province of São João da Barra around 315 km north of Rio di Janeiro, Açu will also become the largest port in South America, with an annual capacity of 350 million tonnes. The project to construct the TX1 terminal is scheduled to take 32 months.

The project also includes the extension of a recently-built pier and construction of a 2.5 km long, 20 m high breakwater, as well as dredging more than 4.2 million m³to an average depth of 31 m.

FCC said the first nine components (caissons) for the breakwater would be built in Algeciras in Spain, since the Brazilian port lacks the necessary facilities for its construction. The caissons will then be transported to Açu on semi-submersible vessels – a journey lasting 15 days and covering 7,960 km.

Açu super port is located inside the Açu super port industrial complex, which spans 90 km². When complete, it will consist of two terminals with 17 km of pier and 40 berths, capable of receiving ships of up to 400,000 tonnes.

The contract was awarded by logistics company LLX and Minas-Rio, the Brazilian subsidiary of multinational Anglo American.