Brasília - The government plans to spend US$ 17 million (R$ 50 million) to eliminate snags at five of the country's biggest ports: Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Paranaguá, Rio Grande, and Vitória. The decision was made today at a meeting of the Industrial Development Council (CDI), based on a report presented by an interministerial group that visited the 11 ports responsible for 95% of the country's port activity.

The goal is to raise productivity 30% and resolve immediate problems, such as lack of maintenance, the need for dredging to permit greater drafts in wharf areas, and difficulties in rail and highway access, among others.

In the Port of Rio de Janeiro, for example, cargo access by train has become more difficult since 70 families built their houses along the rail bed. "Trains have to move at a minimum speed to avoid risks to the people who circulate nearby, and this is bad for access to the port," reported the Minister of Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade, Luiz Fernando Furlan, who presided the CDI meeting.

The measures include the purchase of scales for various ports, the creation of administrative centers and parking areas for trucks that unload cargo in the ports, and the interconnection of computerized data.

Agência Brasil
Reporter: Lana Cristina
Translator: David Silberstein
09/01/2004