The company will be the first 100% Brazilian mining company to verticalize its operations and intends to invest R$3.6 billion in the project
MINAS GERAIS, Brazil, Feb. 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Last Friday (21), Cedro Participações signed the concession contract for the Port of Itaguaí, in Rio de Janeiro. The event was attended by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho.
During the ceremony, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cedro Participações, Lucas Kallas, highlighted the importance of the port in increasing the competitiveness of Brazilian mining activity.
“This new route will increase the competitiveness of Brazilian mining on the global stage and, at the same time, bring significant benefits to the environment and the country’s infrastructure. Thanks to this move, we will remove five thousand trucks per day from the roads and reduce CO2 emissions by more than 40 thousand tons”, he stated.
The company plans to invest R$3.6 billion in the area that will be used to build a storage and handling terminal for mineral bulk solids. The site known as “Porto do Meio” will have the capacity to move 20 million tons per year in an area of approximately 350 thousand square meters.
“We will invest R$3.6 billion in the new port terminal alone, which will generate 2,800 direct and indirect jobs during its construction. And another 2.8 thousand when it will start operating, generating income and boosting the social development of the surrounding communities. The railway branch and terminal will require more than 1.5 billion reais in private investments”, Lucas Kallas affirmed.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva praised Cedro and Lucas Kallas’ courage in investing in the country.
“I would like to thank the entrepreneur Lucas who decided to invest here. I learned from my mother that when we want to know if someone is honest and hard-working, we don’t have to pay attention to their mouth, we have to pay attention to their eyes. And regarding my friend Lucas, since he was brought to my office saying he wanted to invest in the country’s mining industry, I discovered right away that I was talking to a serious businessman, who loves Brazil and supports its growth”, he said.
Cedro will also use the terminal to export pellet feed, a high-quality iron ore capable of reducing carbon emissions in the steel industry by up to 50%.
For Fabiano Carvalho, Commercial Vice President, Strategy and Projects at Cedro Participações, the terminal operation suits the company’s commitments to sustainable mining.
“This port is all about sustainability, it will respect all the best environmental practices in its construction and operation and, in addition, it will allow high-quality ore to be exported and shipped from Brazil to the Middle East and Asia“, he remarked.
Construction work will begin in 2027 and operations are expected to begin in 2029. The investment makes Cedro Participações the first 100% Brazilian, privately held iron mining company to verticalize its operations and have an outlet to the sea.
The Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho, emphasized the development that the construction works of the terminal will bring to the Itaguaí region.
“This is the largest auction in the history of Brazilian ports, with initial investments of R$3.6 billion, which over the years will reach almost R$10 billion in investments. This means that now during the construction phase, 2,800 direct and indirect jobs will be created, bringing opportunities to the people of the region”, he stated.
The Minister of Labor, Luiz Marinho (PT), underscored the recovery of jobs in the port area during Lula’s governments. “In the last two years (2023 and 2024), we have generated more than 2 million and 100 thousand jobs with signed contracts in the country”, he declared. The Minister highlighted the country’s solidity and its growth in income and employment, and criticized the pessimism about the Brazilian economy. “We will grow once again and have a positive employment balance”, he said.
“Brazil has been in a growing process of generating employment. In Brazil, presided over by President Lula, all workers will have opportunities in our country, in formal or informal economic activities. Anyone who wants to endeavour, will have the government’s support. Anyone who wants to work formally, will definitely and preferably also have the government’s support”, he stated.
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