A key area offering significant work opportunities across Brazil ahead of the 2014 World Cup is the country´s ports system, with eight facilities set to receive significant upgrades prior to the event. Specifically, Antaq, Brazil´s National Agency for Aquatic Transport, will invest R$ 740 million (AU$ 444 million) over three years on the eight ports, which link to 12 of the host cities for the 2014 Cup.
In the most recent activity, the information for the upcoming tender for works to Recife´s port, in the state of Pernambuco, has just been launched, promising one of the most modern and luxurious facilities in the world. The project, just the second to leave the drawing board, involves the refurbishment of the old number seven warehouse into the Maritime Terminal for Passengers and the associated ´Pernambuco Room´, which will become a new cultural entertainment hub for the city. The new facilities cover 2,900sqm and have an initial budget of R$21.8 million, all provided by the federal government.
Last year more than 100 ships came through Recife Port, although a significant increase is expected by 2014, with even more arrivals during the Cup year. Importantly, the type of state of the art facilities being planned are new to Brazil, with only basic, often run-down ports currently in place around the country, meaning there is plenty of room for new technologies and thinking.
Beyond Recife, ports in Manaus, Fortaleza, Natal, Porto Alegre, Salvador, Rio de Janeiro and Santos are scheduled for major works over the coming years.
NOTE: Additional information on the Recife tender and a range of other projects and opportunities for Australian companies in Brazil are available through Industry Capability Network´s dedicated Brazil site; more details here