ICTSI invests $174M to boost Brazil port
Global ports operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), led by billionaire Enrique Razon Jr., has invested more than $174 million to expand and modernize its terminal at the Port of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
This project, valued at 948 million Brazilian real, will raise the capacity of the ICTSI Rio Brasil Terminal by 70.5 percent to 750,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) from its current 440,000 TEUs.
The expansion is expected to run through 2029. It includes $76.43 million (414.4 million real) for infrastructure and $98.4 million (533.5 million real) for equipment upgrades.
ICTSI said the upgrade would raise capacity utilization at Container Terminal 1 to 75 percent by 2029 to 2030, helping avoid the saturation forecast for 2027 to 2028.
“This investment is essential for Rio to increase its efficiency and maintain its competitiveness and its ability to absorb part of the demand currently concentrated [at the Port of] Santos. We are talking about a project that benefits not only the terminal, but the entire economy of the Southeast and Midwest of Brazil,” said Roberto Lopes, CEO of Rio Brasil Terminal.
The upgrade includes yard unification and upgrades, reconfiguration of buildings to improve internal flows, acquisition of new container-handling equipment, modernization of utilities and electrical systems and increased automation.
ICTSI will also roll out new access control, monitoring and cargo management systems. It will likewise upgrade facilities to meet updated regulatory requirements, including those set by the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service.
Two new cranes capable of handling vessels up to 400 meters long are scheduled to arrive by mid-2026.
Santos bid
Lopes said the upgrades build on ICTSI’s more than $190-million real investment in the Rio-Minas and Rio-Suzano logistics corridors, with a focus on rail transport.
“Thus, we will not only expand the capacity of the Rio Brasil Terminal but also be able to help mitigate the congestion observed in the Port of Santos, better distributing the port demand in the country,” he added.
Investments into the Port of Rio de Janeiro will also streamline operations, cut waiting times and logistics costs and improve the resilience of this port to bottlenecks, the company said.
Separately, ICTSI is expected to participate in an auction to build and operate the Tecon 10 container terminal at the Port of Santos, according to a Reuters report.
Ports and Airports Minister Silvio Costa Filho said the auction, planned for the first half of March 2026, is expected to raise about $1.19 billion from the winning bidder.
Over 10 companies have already expressed interest.
In 2024, ICTSI Rio held a 31-percent share of Brazil’s container market. This figure is expected to rise following port expansions. These included an increased 73-percent stake in Fundo de Investimento Imobiliario-FII, which owns around 32 hectares of an inactive shipyard in Rio de Janeiro.
