Port in Santa Catarina aims for leadership in Latin America with billion-dollar expansion
The Port of Itapoá in Santa Catarina is entering a new phase of expansion with an estimated investment of around R$500 million. Construction is expected to take place over the next 12 months. The project will continuously expand the terminal's infrastructure, aiming to position Itapoá among the four largest ports in Brazil.
By 2033, the plan aims to achieve South American leadership in efficiency and operational capacity. Located in Babitonga Bay , Porto Itapoá has a 455,000-square-meter yard with a static capacity of 31,000 TEUs (a unit of measurement equivalent to a 20-foot container) and the capacity to handle up to 1.8 million TEUs per year.
Felipe Fioravanti Kaufmann, Director of Business Development and Customer Experience at Porto Itapoá, explains that in this new phase, the port will expand its infrastructure to meet growing demand, both domestically and internationally. "The expansion will add 120,000 m² to the yard. Furthermore, new acquisitions of high-tech equipment are planned, which promise to increase the terminal's efficiency and sustainability," says the director.
Among the new investments, the acquisition of another portainer —essential equipment for moving containers on large vessels—stands out, the eighth in Itapoá's fleet. "In August of this year, we consolidated the full operational structure of the seventh portainer and have already seen a 15% increase in productivity," reports Kaufmann.
Itapoá Port Modernization PackageThe Port of Itapoá is planning to expand its pier by another 400 meters, bringing its total length to 1,200 meters. The new structure will allow three large vessels to dock simultaneously. Felipe Kaufmann explains that the expansion is licensed by Ibama (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) and that the project must follow a strategic schedule.
The Port of Itapoá will acquire 12 remotely operated RTGs (tire-on-wheel cranes) as part of a modernization package. The port currently has 10 remotely controlled RTGs, making it the first port terminal in South America to use this technology .
"These cranes are hybrids, which, in addition to reducing fuel consumption, also reduces carbon emissions," adds Kaufmann. The terminal also has 17 other conventional RTGs.
The Port of Itapoá will also acquire nine terminal tractor (TT) trucks used to move containers in the yard and on the quay. Currently, the Terminal operates 49 TTs, 20 of which are electric—the largest fleet in Brazil in this category. "The Port of Itapoá powers these TTs with 100% renewable energy, in line with its sustainability policy," states the director.
The expansion includes approximately 1,000 new refrigerated ports, bringing the total to 4,038 reefer container ports, solidifying Itapoá as the terminal with the largest number of reefer ports in Santa Catarina and the second largest in Brazil. Another important acquisition announced is a new, state-of-the-art scanner . The Port of Itapoá already has two scanners, essential equipment for cargo security.
Completed works total R$815 million in investments at Porto ItapoáIn April, the Port of Itapoá opened a new yard, covering an additional 200,000 m², including an 8,000 m² warehouse, representing a R$815 million investment in terminal construction. With this expansion, the port now operates one of the largest container yards in Brazil, at 455,000 m². These investments also included the acquisition of large equipment.
In September 2024, Ibama granted the installation license for dredging work in the Babitonga Bay waterway access channel. The Santa Catarina government held the bidding process in March of this year and opened the bidders' envelopes last month. The appeals process is now underway.
The dredging project will increase the depth of the outer channel from 14 meters to 16 meters, allowing navigation of vessels up to 366 meters long. The contract for the company responsible for executing the project is estimated at R$300 million.
Port of Itapoá's performance stands out on the national sceneThe Port of Itapoá handled more than 73,000 containers and operated approximately 60 vessels in July, achieving the second-highest monthly volume of the year. This performance maintains the average of approximately 72,000 containers per month in 2025 and reinforces the terminal's consistent high operational volumes.
From January to July, the port of Itapoá handled around 500,000 containers, representing a 33% increase compared to the same period in 2024. The number of vessels operated also increased by 17% year-on-year.
The growth of the port of Itapoá is also reflected in the ranking of the National Waterway Transportation Agency (Antaq), which released consolidated data for the sector for the period from January to May 2025. In the survey, the port of Itapoá appears as the third largest container handler in Brazil, behind the port complexes of Santos (SP) and Paranaguá (PR).
Compared to the same period in 2024, the Santa Catarina terminal registered a 32.5% growth, a performance well above the national average of 8.35%. In addition to record container volumes, July—on the eve of the US tariff hike imposed on Brazil—marked the largest monthly movement in history at the Itapoá port gates . There were more than 57,000 transactions, a daily average of approximately 1,860 movements.
gazetadopovo
