Manaus - The Amazônia industrial pole is gaining its Third Cargo Terminal (Teca III) at the Eduardo Gomes International Airport in Manaus. The new area, which will be inaugurated tomorrow (14) by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the president of the Brazilian Airport Infrastructure Enterprise (Infraero), Carlos Wilson, will take care of the increase in the region's import and export flows.

Infraero forecasts that air cargo movement will quadruplicate, from 3 thousand tons/month to 12 thousand. The airport's cargo complex already comprises Terminal I, for exports and domestic cargo arrivals, and Terminal II, used for imports and cargo in transit.

The regional superintendent of Infraero in Manaus, Tércio Ivan de Barros, explained that this is one more aid to the entrepreneurs of the region. "The terminal will serve local production, contributing to shipments not only to the domestic market but to the international market as well, chiefly the Mercosur countries, Mexico, the United States, and Asia," Barros said.

According to Barros, the decision to construct Teca III was mainly in consequence of the cargo demand from the Manaus Duty-Free Zone. "The pace of growth of the Duty-Free Zone this year has already brought in US$ 10.5 billion in earnings, which may reach US$ 13 billion through December," the superintendent informed.

The expansion of Manaus's airport cargo complex has been heating up Amazônia's economy. "When one talks about growth and job creation, we are sure that, with the inauguration of this Third Cargo Terminal, we shall be generating over five thousand direct and indirect jobs," Barros emphasized.

Until the end of construction, scheduled for 2006, investments of US$ 46.8 million (R$ 130 million) are expected. The unit, which will have a hangar area for cargo planes, will also have a deposit for restricted cargo that is considered dangerous, such as inflammable, radioactive, explosive, and contagious substances.

The size of the terminal amounts to nearly 14 thousand square meters, with a 12-meter ceiling and capacity to store up to a million tons.

Agência Brasil
Reporter: Nelson Motta
Translator: David Silberstein
12/13/2004