Rebeca Oliveira (Pecém Port): We Hold the Hand of Those Who Invest

Rebeca Oliveira, Director of Institutional Relations at the Pecém Complex

Pecém is not just another port terminal. Since December 2018 it has been an industrial and port complex, formed by an industrial area, the Port itself and the Export Processing Zone (EPZ). In this interview, Rebeca Oliveira, responsible for the institutional relations of the entire complex, explains the reasons for the growth of the Port's activity and comments on what investors will find if they decide to invest in Ceará.

The Port of Pecém Complex has been growing a lot in recent years. What are the pillars of this growth in recent years?
Last year, we broke our 20-year operating record. We are working very hard with our partners, not only in Ceará, but also in other states. Today, we work with cargo from Piauí, Tocantins, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte and Maranhão. And, in Ceará, we have large industries, such as Companhia Siderúrgica do Pecém, installed in the Port Complex, which alone handles more than ten million tons.

The fact of being in Ceará also helps...
Ceará is changing, Ceará today is not only the setting for family industries, we have large multinationals and new industries are arriving to accompany those that are already installed. Today, the Port of Pecém is a focal point. I have been here for 12 years. Before, we used to go to trade fairs and we had to invite people to visit our stands. Today, we work with an agenda. The market recognizes us as a complex. And we have a very good cargo productivity, which reduces costs.  Our price list is very accessible. We are in open waters, we do not have dredging costs, we do not have the cost of the access channel, and all of this is passed on to the client. That's why there are cargoes that come from other very distant states, sometimes more than 5 thousand kilometers away, but they use Pecém because of the ease, the location, our structure that makes it worthwhile to bring a ship. In addition, we have natural deep waters, which are exceptional, one of the best in Brazil.

Could you cite any example of logistics that the port attracts due to all these factors?
One example is the fruit from Petrolina and Juazeiro da Bahia. They are not exported from their home states of Bahia and Pernambuco, but almost entirely from the state of Ceará. This is because from here it goes directly to the first port of Europe and arrives in just eight days.

How do you see the future of the Pecém Complex, within the context of Ceará's growth?
Some Memoranda of Understanding are being signed for the green hydrogen hub that will be installed at the Complex. These are all strategic projects. We have a strategic design committee dealing with this. These are long-term projects, five to seven years, but they need to be worked on now. This will make the activities of the Complex even more dynamic. I always say look around us. The Ceará that we are seeing today and that of ten years from now will be totally different. We are at the forefront. In this matter of hydrogen, we are taking the first steps in investments, studies, and whoever comes to look for us, talk to us, will have their doors open too. This interaction of the port community is very important, because it will be positive for the entire Northeast. The issue of the sun, the wind, green hydrogen is going to be very important here in our region and for Brazil. We believe in this revolution that will happen here in the State of Ceará.

What will investors find if they decide to invest in the Port of Pecém complex?
We spoke a lot today with our investor. We have a policy of holding hands with those who want to invest in Ceará. We are a facilitator. As the Pecém port complex, being 30% owned by the Port of Rotterdam and 70% by the State Government, is a Government plan. We have access to the Department of Finance, the Department of Economic Development, we monitor the Department of Environment and City Halls. Today, the Pecém complex is half in Caucaia, half in São Gonçalo. So, we are maintaining this relationship with the city halls of the two municipalities, and we are this facilitator. This is the first step. We have an Export Processing Zone, the only one currently in operation, which has tax, legal and foreign exchange benefits.