The consortium formed by TCN, Viterra, CLI and ALZ Grãos, which manages the grain terminal at the port of Itaqui (Tegram), in Maranhão, this week filed a request requesting early renewalthat of its port concession contract, which will only expire in 2037.
The reason is the strong demand and the need to expand the terminal structure. With two phases of the original project implemented, Tegram handled a volume 50% higher than expected. Combined, phases 1 and 2 were expected to reach a movement of 10 million tons. However, 15 million tons have already passed through the port.
Marcos Pepe Bertoni, president of the grain terminal at the Port of Itaqui, in Maranhão (Photo: Disclosure)
“In eight years we managed to exhaust the project’s capacity. By 2037, we will have new areas in production, more developed and adapted technologies, and we need to grow to meet demand”, said Marcos Pepe Bertoni, president of Tegram, to IM Business.
The request for early renewal coincides with the start of investment in the third phase of the terminal, which foresees contributions of R$ 1.6 billion from the partners. Originally, the third phase only included the construction of Tegram’s third berth.
Given that capacity has already been reached, the new proposed plan envisages the expansion of storage and the truck reception area. Thus, the terminal could handle 23 million tons of grain per year.
Grain terminal at the Port of Itaqui, in Maranhão (Photo: Disclosure)
For this reason, in addition to the early renewal, the consortium is also requesting a densification. In practice, it is authorization to build new structures in an area next to existing warehouses.
Tegram’s main focus has been soy exports. Of the 15.6 million tons moved in 2023, just over 65% were grain, which represented a growth of 6.5% compared to 2022.
The expectation is that soybeans will remain the flagship of the terminal, but the growth in international demand for Brazilian corn encourages the consortium. Last year alone, Tegram’s corn shipments grew by almost 40% and reached 5.3 million tons.
The four companies in the consortium that manages Tegram have different operations. TCN is a company formed between Toyota (75%) and CHS (25%), an American cooperative that represents approximately 500 thousand producers.
ALZ Grãos has as partners LDC, Amaggi and the Japanese Zen-Noh Grãos. Viterra, on the other hand, was recently purchased by Bunge, which tends to take over the operation as soon as the business has been approved by regulatory bodies.
In the case of CLI, the company has as partners the Macquarie funds and the private equity IG4 Capital. The company is a logistics operator and provides services in Itaqui for ADM, Cargill and Cofco.
Newsletter
IM Business Agro
Sign up for the newsletter and receive exclusive analyzes on everything that moves the world of agribusiness, as well as a curation of the best things that happened throughout the week