Brazil's Batista launches port-construction project in Rio state

Eike Batista, Brazil's richest man, on Thursday inaugurated a port-construction project in Rio de Janeiro state and said he had taken steps to build a modern shipyard in the same region.

Batista, joined by Rio Gov. Sergio Cabral, presided over a ceremony for the launch of construction of the Sudeste Super Port, a private maritime terminal that will require 1.8 billion reais ($1 billion) in investment.

The port is to be built in Itaguai, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Rio de Janeiro, by the logistics company of Batista's EBX conglomerate, which also comprises oil, mining, construction and electricity firms.

Although docks and warehouses will be rented out to other companies, the new port on Sepetiba Bay will be used primarily to ship the iron ore that MMX, another EBX subsidiary, extracts in the neighboring state of Minas Gerais.

The port, which will occupy a 52-hectare (128-acre) area and have berths with 21-meter (70-foot) draft, will have the capacity to move up to 50 million tons of cargo annually when it begins operating in 2012.

The iron ore will be stored at warehouses with 2.5 million tons of capacity and have train and tunnel links to the mines and docks, respectively.

The equipment that EBX logistics subsidiary LLX has already acquired for the port includes a double wagon load operator and two ship loaders, delivered by Germany's ThyssenKrupp and China's ZPMC, respectively.

Batista also announced at Thursday's ceremony that he has taken steps to build a shipyard in Rio de Janeiro state after initial plans to build that facility in the southern state of Santa Catarina fell through.

The businessman said that after Santa Catarina authorities denied him the environmental license for the project he requested authorization from Rio de Janeiro state to build the shipyard at the Acu Super Port.

That port and industrial complex, also owned by Batista, is being built in Sao Joao da Barra, a town on the northern coast of Rio de Janeiro state.

The shipyard will be built in association with South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries.

Source: EFE