ICTSI investing P10 billion for Brazil expansion

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December 16, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Logistics giant International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) is lining up a P10-billion investment in its Brazil operations to expand cargo capacity in preparation for future demand.

ICTSI yesterday said that it has secured regulatory approval to proceed with its plan to invest up to 948 million Brazilian real, or more than P10 billion, to upgrade the Rio Brasil Terminal.

Approved by Brazil’s Ministry of Ports and Airports, the project will be delivered until 2029 and is designed to increase the operational capacity of the terminal by 70 percent.

Currently, the Rio Brasil Terminal can accommodate 440,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year, but the expansion will elevate this to 750,000 TEUs annually. By 2029, ICTSI said the project would make the Rio Brasil Terminal the maritime hub of Brazil, particularly for its southeast and midwest regions.

ICTSI will spend the bigger chunk at about P5.81 billion for the purchase of new equipment, including automation tools to accelerate yard turnaround. The other half of the cost at around P4.52 billion will be spent on infrastructure works.

Once the expansion is finished, the Rio Brasil Terminal is expected to operate at a yard capacity of 75 percent, providing more flexibility and predictability.

The expansion will minimize wait times and reduce logistics costs and will also place the Rio Brasil Terminal ahead of other ports in preventing possible bottlenecks.

Without capacity intervention, ICTSI said the Rio Brasil Terminal would become overly saturated by 2027 or 2028, limiting its opportunities to capture future demand.

Rio Brasil Terminal CEO Roberto Lopes said the new investments would be made on top of the initial spending placed by ICTSI. Earlier, ICTSI has invested over 190 million Brazilian real, or roughly P2 billion, for the upgrade of cargo rail in Rio de Janeiro.

Lopes also said the expansion would enable the Rio Brasil Terminal to dock large-scale vessels, including the Panamax and post-Panamax ships. These vessels, spanning up to 366 meters long, can carry a cargo load of as heavy as 13,000 TEUs.

“This investment is essential for Rio to increase its efficiency and maintain competitiveness and the ability to absorb part of the demand currently concentrated in Santos, so we are talking about a project that benefits not only the terminal, but the entire economy of the southeast and midwest of Brazil,” Lopes said.

ICTSI is one of the world’s biggest port players in the 50,000 to 3.5 million TEU per year range, handling terminals in six continents.