Brazilian President on Hand for Turnover of Reconstructed Flood Damaged Berth at the Port of Itajai

APM Terminals will refit the repaired and rebuilt berth for installation of STS Cranes at the Terminal de Containers do Vale do Itajai S/A.

Itajai, Brazil – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (known as Lula) visited the Port of Itajai in Brazil’s Santa Catarina State on Monday, September 13th, for the official handover of the reconstructed Berth 2 to the Itajai Port Authority. APM Terminals Itajai S/A which owns and operates a terminal concession in that port, will now take over the 273 meter Berth 2 from the Port Authority and continue and finish the reconstruction with the installation of crane rails and electric power infrastructure for quayside ship-to-shore cranes.

“We are grateful for the massive reconstruction effort undertaken by the Brazilian Government following the flood, and we are pleased to report that with renovations well underway, the Port of Itajai will be even better prepared to face the challenges in Brazil’s exciting economic growth” said APM Terminals Itajai Managing Director Walter Joos.

The Flooding of the Itajai-Acu River in November 2008 caused severe damage to the Port, washing away two berths and temporarily halting port operations. An official State of Emergency was declared by the Brazilian Government, and the deaths of over 100 people were caused by the natural disaster.

APM Terminals expects to finalize the berth and yard construction of Berth 2 during the next months. Once completed, berth no. 1 and 2 will provide a combined berth length of 558 meters. APM Terminals also has priority berthing at Berth 3, until 2012. Dredging of the river to a channel depth of 14 meters is expected to begin later this year. The current depth is 10.5 meters, restricting calls from larger vessels. The Shipping Community is pushing the Authorities to include the construction of a new 450 meter turning basin, to allow the Port to accommodate the future generation of vessels.

The Port Complex of Itajai, which includes terminals operated on the opposite side of the river, was Brazil’s second-largest containerport, after the Port of Santos, with throughputs of approximately 682,000 and 694,000 TEUs respectively in 2007 and 2008. Due to the flooding damage Itajai’s container volume fell to fourth place among Brazilian ports in 2009, with combined volume of 593,000 TEUs.

Container throughput at Itajai’s terminals has soared by nearly 78% during the first six months of 2010, with total volume for the year projected to exceed 1,000,000 TEUs. Demands on Brazil’s port infrastructure have increased as the Brazilian economy, the largest in South America, has surged by 8.8% during the 1st Half of 2010 compared with the first six months of 2009. APM Terminals also operates Brazil’s Ceará Terminal Operator, at the Port of Pecém, and holds a 50% share in Brasil Terminal Portuário, which is constructing a new container terminal at the Port of Santos.

“We will be ready to serve our customers in Brazil to an even larger extent and help to meet the need for port capacity” said Joos.

PHOTO CAPTION: President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil delivering a speech to the Shipping and Terminal Community in Itajai on September 13th during the official transfer of Berth 2 to the Itajai Port Authority.