São Paulo – Gulftainer, a logistics company in the United Arab Emirates, invested around US$ 10 million in a container terminal in the Port of Recife and should start operating at the site late this month. This information was disclosed by the port’s commercial and operational director, Sidnei Aires, who spent ten days travelling in the Emirates, in late March, to learn about the company’s work in its country of origin.
Late last year, the group signed an agreement with the government of Pernambuco state to operate a container terminal in Recife Port. In the letter of intentions, Gulftainer proposed to operate not only in the sector, but also in other areas, like general cargo, in which the products are shipped according to their individual specifications and are counted by unit. But, for the time being, the work will be focussed on container terminals in the state-owned yard in Recife Port, where Gulftainer is developing initial tests for the start of activities.
According to Aires, the investment started being made after the partnership was signed and it includes the purchase of equipment, gantry cranes and other measures to make possible Gulftainer operation at the site. “They are prepared to invest heavily in Latin America and the world,” said Aires, in an interview to ANBA.
The commercial operating director at Recife Port stated that Gulftainer should try to replicate in Brazil the efficiency with which it works in the Emirates. “The Gulftainer terminal in Khor Fakkan Port is among the most productive worldwide. The global average (throughput) is between 80 and 100 containers an hour. In Brazil, it is lower, between 30 and 40 containers an hour. But in Khor Fakkan the average is 245 containers an hour,” said Aires. The port belongs to Sharjah emirate.
According to Aires, this productivity is due to factors like the use of modern equipment, loading and offloading operation planning, as well as the port’s structure, with great depth. "We are very pleased to meet Mr. Sidnei Aires, to show him, first hand, the excellent installations in our ports and to provide an idea of what we expect to reach at the installations in Recife,” said the managing director at Gulftainer, Peter Richards, on meeting Aires in Sharjah.
Aires visited the Gulftainer installations and also its container terminal in Sharjah Port. He also met the president of Sharjah Ports Authority, Khalid Bin Abdullah Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, and leaders at the emirate’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry. According to the director, he was invited to take to the Arab country a larger delegation from the state of Pernambuco to learn not just about logistics in the region, but also about the business opportunities in other areas.
Gulftainer has been in operation for 35 years and, apart from the ports of Sharjah and Khor Fakkan, it also provides services in Ruwais Port, in Abu Dhabi. Abroad, according to figures on the company site, the organisation also operates in Brazil and Iraq.
*Translated by Mark Ament
