By Brazil Stock Guide – Brazil’s Santos Port authority signed a 617.9 million-real contract to deepen its navigation channel, seeking to accommodate larger cargo vessels and expand capacity at Latin America’s busiest port complex.
The Santos Port Authority, or APS, signed the contract on Friday, June 12. The project will deepen the channel to 16 meters from the current 15 meters, addressing demand from the shipping industry as global cargo vessels become larger and require greater draft.
The work will be carried out by Jan de Nul do Brasil, the local unit of the Belgian dredging group Jan De Nul. The contract covers five years of deepening works and an additional two years of maintenance dredging to preserve the new draft standard.
APS President Anderson Pomini said the investment is aligned with the port’s expansion strategy and is intended to improve access for the most modern cargo ships operating worldwide.
“It is an investment of almost 620 million reais that meets the Santos Port expansion plan, so that the world’s most modern cargo fleet can access the terminals without difficulty, increasing productivity and reducing costs,” Pomini said.
The new deepening project comes 14 years after the last major intervention in the channel, when its depth was increased to 15 meters. Since then, cargo vessels have evolved in size and operational requirements, putting pressure on port infrastructure to keep pace with international shipping standards.
By increasing the channel depth to 16 meters, APS aims to improve navigation conditions for port users and strengthen Santos’ role as Brazil’s main logistics gateway for cargo flows.