ICTSI to pump P10.3B into Brazil terminal expansion

RAZON-LED International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) will invest R$948 million (around P10.3 billion) to expand and modernize its Rio Brasil Terminal at the Port of Rio de Janeiro, the company announced on Monday.

The project, which will run until 2029, is expected to increase the terminal’s annual container-handling capacity by 70.5%, from 440,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to 750,000 TEUs, ICTSI said in an e-mailed statement.

The expansion will position Rio de Janeiro as a key logistics hub for Brazil’s Southeast and Midwest regions, it added.

“This investment is essential for Rio to increase its efficiency, maintain its competitiveness, and absorb part of the demand currently concentrated in Santos,” Roberto Lopes, chief executive officer of Rio Brasil Terminal, was quoted as saying in the statement.

“The project benefits not only the terminal but also the broader economy of the Southeast and Midwest of Brazil,” he added.

ICTSI Rio offers maritime, road, and rail access and can handle the largest vessels calling the Brazilian coast.

The investment will fund R$414.4 million in infrastructure works and R$533.5 million in equipment acquisition, including expansion and unification of storage yards, rearrangement of buildings to optimize container flows, acquisition of modern container-handling equipment, upgrading utility systems and electrical infrastructure, and technology and automation improvements to enhance customer service efficiency.

The terminal will also implement advanced access control, cargo monitoring, and management systems to meet regulatory requirements, ICTSI said.

The expansion will allow the terminal to operate large Panamax and post-Panamax vessels up to 366 meters long with over 13,000 TEU capacity.

Two new cranes for the largest vessels are expected to arrive by mid-2026, the company said.

“This is a transformative project that reinforces our commitment to Brazil and the efficiency and competitiveness of the national logistics chain,” Mr. Lopes said.

ICTSI has already invested R$190 million in the Rio-Minas and Rio-Suzano logistics corridors, focusing on rail transport, according to the company.

“The expansion will also help reduce congestion at the Port of Santos, better distributing container traffic across the country,” Mr. Lopes added.

Toby Allan C. Arce, head of sales trading at Globalinks Securities and Stocks, Inc., said the investment strengthens ICTSI’s presence in a major South American port.

He noted that over the next two to five years, the project will gradually affect earnings, with initial capital expenditure and depreciation, followed by incremental revenue and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) gains as the expanded terminal and modernized equipment increase throughput and services.

Established in 1988, ICTSI operates 34 terminals in 20 countries across six continents. ICTSI Rio Brasil Terminal serves import, export, and industrial hubs.

On Monday, ICTSI shares in the Philippines fell 4.75% to P581 apiece. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera