Wilson Sons, a port and shipping logistics operator with over 188 years of experience, plans to expand the Rio Grande Container Terminal (located in Rio Grande do Sul) by making investments exceeding R$1.1 billion in port infrastructure by 2030. The initiative aims to expand the terminal’s operational capacity and meet the growing logistics demands of Rio Grande do Sul and the Southern Cone. This will strengthen regional competitiveness and the infrastructure of the Brazilian economy.

This necessity of expansion stems from an ongoing effort driven by exporters’ growing production and the increasing number of transshipment operations from countries such as Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay. In this context, investments become essential to avoid logistical bottlenecks and maintain high operational performance, and the terminal’s ability to handle increasingly larger vessels.

The main initiatives include the expansion of the pier from 900 to 1,200 metres. The expansion will allow the simultaneous operation of up to three large vessels, especially 366-metre-long New Panamax ships, which operate in most international routes. The objective is to ensure that the port will remain a cargo hub in the Southern Cone (Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay), handling the largest ships docking along the Brazilian coast.

“The project directly addresses the need to guarantee the flow of production from exporters based in Rio Grande do Sul and in the Southern Cone, and to serve importers, who depend on the port’s efficiency to maintain the competitiveness of Rio Grande do Sul in the national and international markets.” If these investments were postponed, there would be a risk of significant operational restrictions, such as ship queues, missed port calls, and cargo diversion to other ports, with a direct impact on the state’s logistics costs,” says Paulo Bertinetti, CEO of Rio Grande Container Terminal.

Logistics Efficiency and Job Creation

The project also includes expanding the back area, paving more than 180,000 square metres, and acquiring new equipment, such as three ship-to-shore cranes, 14 rubber tyred gantry cranes, and 26 tractors, which are all electric, with embedded automation and remote operation. State-of-the-art telemetry asset monitoring systems are also planned.

Rio Grande Container Terminal: construction project to expand operations berth and purchase new equipment

The investments must also boost local socioeconomic development and generate some 220 direct jobs, plus 500 jobs during construction and more than 5,000 indirect jobs along the logistics chain. “Investments of this magnitude tend to generate new opportunities throughout the project and during operations, which helps to strengthen the local economy,” Bertinetti adds.

This project is not just about physical expansion; it guarantees that Rio Grande do Sul will remain directly connected to major global markets, thereby avoiding extra transshipment costs at other ports.

The expansion is occurring against a backdrop of continuous growth in regional production and increasing demand for adequate logistics infrastructure.

The Rio Grande Container Terminal currently serves as the main gateway for inputs and products in the economy of Rio Grande do Sul and the Southern Cone. Exports from Brazil include frozen chicken, pork, tobacco, rice, resins, paper pulp, and furniture. Imports include parts and components, machinery, chemicals, and steel goods. Regarding the flow of goods from neighbouring countries, the terminal handles transshipment cargo of beef, parts and components, wood, chemicals, machinery, resins, electronic equipment, and seeds.

With this project, the terminal will play a stronger role as strategic infrastructure for the production flow from the south of the country and for the logistical integration of the Southern Cone. In a scenario of accelerated transformation in the shipping industry, adjusting port capacity ceases to be a differentiating factor and becomes a condition for Brazil’s competitiveness in international trade.
Source: Wilson Sons