Port of Antwerp, through its subsidiary Port of Antwerp International (PAI), will invest USD 10 million in Porto do Açu, a privately owned port complex in São João da Barra, in the northern part of Rio de Janeiro State, in Brazil.
Port of Açu is an industrial deep sea port for the handling of oil, gas, dry bulk, containers and general cargo. It also serves as a support centre for the Brazilian offshore sector due to its location to the Campos basin. The port connects international markets to the Brazilian market of more than 200 million people.
The construction of the port complex started in 2007 and the first operations started in 2014. Port of Açu has a surface of 130 km² of which 40 km² is natural reserve. The port has potential to operate 17 kilometres of dock with a maximum depth of 25 metres. It has the capacity to receive very large vessels such as Capesizes and VLCCs.
Brazil is the largest economy of Latin America and the 7th largest in the world and a very important maritime trading partner for the port of Antwerp. More than 6.4 million tonnes of freight are exchanged on an annual basis between the largest country from Latin America and the port of Antwerp. This places Brazil on the 6th place as a trading partner. This investment confirms the strong long term commitment of the Port of Antwerp towards the Brazilian market.
The Port of Açu Industrial Complex is a port developed and controlled by the Brazilian Bovespa listed company Prumo Logística, which has implemented one of the most modern concepts of port-industry in its design. Prumo Logística is controlled by US Based EIG, one of the leading providers of institutional capital to the global energy industry. EIG has invested more than USD 23.5 billion in more than 315 portfolio investments in 36 countries.
