The terminal has been responsible for handling over 14 million TEUs in the last decade and awaits approval for its contract renewal to initially invest over R$1.5 billion.

Santos, November 28, 2023 – Brazil Terminal Portuário (BTP) marks, today, its 10th anniversary since its inauguration at the Port of Santos on the coast of São Paulo. Over the past decade, the company has gained prominence among container terminals in the Santos region. With a designed area of 430,000 meters, the terminal stands among the most modern and efficient in Brazil and the world.

With the operational capacity to handle approximately 1.5 million TEUs annually, BTP also stands out in the eyes of satisfied customers due to the implementation of best management practices and operational efficiency. An indicator of this efficiency is the average time it takes for a truck to unload its cargo at the terminal, which, from pre-gate entry to exit, averages 75 minutes. Positive results were recently recognized by the market as well. BTP was awarded by the Ibero Brazilian Institute of Customer Relationship (IBRC – portuguese acronym) as one of the reference companies in customer service. It was also elected the Supplier of the Year in the Excellence in Customs Services category by Hyundai Motor Americas Central and South.

“Our 10 years in Santos have been marked all along by a constant orientation toward innovation and continuous improvements in operational activities. We focus on investments in equipment and infrastructure for excellence in customer service, as well as nurturing the development of our employees, enhancing the training of all to be ready for another 10, 20 years of BTP operations in this port,” emphasizes Ricardo Arten, CEO of BTP.

10 Years of Investments – Since the start of operations, the company has made significant investments in the terminal. It began with the recovery of a degraded area known as the ‘Lixão da Alemoa’, in an environmental remediation project that took 30 months to turn it into a berth over 1,100 meters long capable of accommodating three large ships simultaneously.

Between environmental remediation and the implementation project of the terminal in November 2013, the company invested over US$800 million in direct initial investments from the shareholders Terminal Investiment Limited (TiL) and APM Terminals, two of the world’s largest port operators, and financing by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s arm. Consistent investments in equipment, modernizing infrastructure works, and the installation of new technologies have brought BTP to its current stage.

Over 10 years, operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the terminal has achieved the loading and unloading of over 14.8 million TEUs, each representing a 20-foot container. More than seven thousand ships have docked there, connecting Santos to ports on all five continents, in addition to the Brazilian coast.

Social Commitment – BTP is also a vector of transformation in the community. Currently, it invests R$3.5 million in 19 social projects, with a social impact on more than a thousand people, especially young people and children in situations of social vulnerability. With income generation for the municipality, it voluntarily contributes to uplifting projects aimed at improving the quality of life for residents of the region, such as an investment of over R$18 million for the construction of a new Basic Health Unit (UBS) and the expansion of the Youth Center in the Zona Noroeste, in the Dique da Vila Gilda, in the continental area of Santos, where around six thousand people live.

The terminal also develops its own social inclusion initiatives. Highlights include the “BTP for Everyone” project, a free course offered by the company within its own terminal aimed at training people with disabilities to work in the port sector, contributing to the qualification of around 250 people in nine years. The “Inclusive Project,” another social initiative of BTP, promotes digital inclusion for interested employees and their families, as well as community residents, through the offering of a free computer course in partnership with Senac Santos. In the surrounding communities, BTP promotes initiatives focused on the qualification of young people, such as the “Workforce Preparation Workshop,” currently held in the Saboó neighborhood, in Santos, and a visiting program that promotes port-city integration.

For BTP CEO Ricardo Arten, the company will advance even further in its ESG (environmental, social, and governance) agenda. “It is our commitment to carry out responsible port operations that combine economic development, respect for the environment, and social inclusion. Therefore, our investment plan for the next 20 years will follow the company’s ESG guidelines. Concerning the environment, our commitment is to be a terminal with zero carbon emissions by 2030,” Arten affirms.

Investment Commitment with Renewal – As part of the request to renew its lease contract for another 20 years until 2047, BTP has committed to investments of R$1.5 billion (December 2020 values), which may be further expanded in the coming years. The renewal request designed by the company includes increasing operational capacity through the acquisition of a new fleet of equipment, reinforcing berths, reconfiguring facilities and buildings, and automating gates. The investment package will allow a 40% increase in operational capacity. The company’s quay handling capacity will be expanded with the purchase of four new and modern ship-to-shore cranes (STS), totaling 12 electrified cranes, in addition to new fenders. The reefer area will also see a significant increase, from the current 2,128 to around 3,500 refrigerated outlets. Terminal investments will also focus on technology and innovation with the installation of the first private 5G network in the port sector in Latin America, contributing to enhancing terminal performance in the coming years. Currently, the BTP renewal process is in the final approval stage by the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU).

10 Years of BTP in numbers – Located on the right bank of the Port of Santos, BTP has the capacity to receive 3,900 trucks for loading or unloading every 24 hours, in a frenetic back-and-forth of trucks and their containers, sometimes loaded with medicines and food, sometimes with beef cargo using refrigerated containers. To handle this movement, over 1,500 employees, from the yard or office, maintenance or operators of sophisticated portainers or cranes, take turns day and night in an activity that never stops.

+ 7,000 docked vessels

+ 9.5 million handled containers

+ 14.8 million TEUs handled

+ R$ 257 million allocated to environmental remediation

+ 300 improvement projects implemented in the terminal

+ 1,500 direct jobs and 7,500 indirect jobs



Brasil Terminal Portuário, the largest Container terminal in South America, completes 10 years of operation.
(Credit: BTP)