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Foreign revenues generated by exports from Paranaguá port, in the southern Brazilian state of Paraná, have more than doubled. Between 2002 and 2004, the financial volume rose from US$ 4 billion to US$ 8.4 billion.
Published in March, the four first calls for tenders for expansion and modernization of the port for this year forecast investment of US$ 36 million, which should maintain growth, according to the port administration.
Considered the largest grain movement port in Brazil, Paranaguá exported 5 million tons of soy in grain in 2004. Between January and mid March this year, the port has already shipped 921,000 tons of products, against 405,000 in the same period last year, which means an increase of 124%. The transport of wood in the period rose 16% and that of frozen products, 30%.
There are various actions being developed for the improvement of infrastructure and logistics. "These are projects that seek excellence in port activities in the quality, efficiency and agility point of view," declared the port superintendent, Eduardo Requião.
Some of these projects are already in process, like the modernization of the port information technology system and the adjustment of balances for the weighing of trucks.
The grain storage capacity is going to double with the installation, forecasted for this year, of a new public silo, with a capacity for 107,800 tons.
In an investment of around US$ 520,000, new general cargo and grain movement terminals are being set up in the region called Vila da Madeira (Wood Village), which has an area of 66,000 square meters.
At the site warehouses are being built, with a capacity for 3,000 square meters each, increasing the general cargo movement in over one million tons a year.
Once the first phase of works is ended, the construction of an alcohol storage park will begin. The tanks will each have a capacity for 35,000 cubic meters. New truck balances with capacities for up to 100 tons will be installed at Vila da Madeira.
Agility
Logistics is also being contemplated in the investment plan. Improving it means speeding up product flow and, consequently, revenues.
"Our logistic system privileges vessel nomination, showing volumes to be shipped and the quantity of trucks bringing the cargo. This is a system that avoids queues as we operate synchronized with the productive chain," explained Requião.
So as to speed up the shipping, Appa, the port administrator, is analysing the use of warehouses belonging to the National Food Supply Company (Conab), in the city of Ponta Grossa, which has a capacity for storage of 420,000 tons.
Another alternative that may come true is the use of a 16,000 square meter warehouse belonging to the extinguished Brazilian Coffee Institute (IBC), also from that city.
With both structures made available to the port administration, truck drivers will not have to drive down the coastal mountain range to unload.
Without having been worked on for 30 years, the Appa headquarters are being redone. The roof is being replaced, concrete slabs are being washed and the internal layout of the building is being redefined, among other actions that have already begun.
Façades, bathrooms and replacement of electrical, telephone and IT information installations are being worked on, as is landscaping. Ramps are being installed for the access of handicapped people.
Other work that is being developed is the improvement of routes of access to the port and to the dock zone.
An old request by residents of Paranaguá, the site is going to receive concrete, which will provide greater safety to the adjacent roads and will improve hygiene, avoiding the accumulation of waste in the potholes that appear in the tarmac.
ANBA - Brazil-Arab News Agency
www.anba.com.br
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